


A Twist of Fate Left Straight

by AGJ1990



Series: Evelyn Winchester [44]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU of an AU, Evy finally gets her mommy, Sam gets the normal life he wanted, family life for the Winchesters, stepmother Winchester, there's still plenty of Winchester angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:18:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 53,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14415522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGJ1990/pseuds/AGJ1990
Summary: Another 'what if' story in the style of New Life, New Family. What if Evy's mother Missy had lived? How different would the Winchesters' lives be?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original characters of Evelyn Winchester and Missy Collins do.

“Sammyyy…”

“Whateeee…” Thirteen-year-old Sam said from his bed, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

“What ya doing?”

Sam sighed and looked up at his little sister. Evy was standing at the edge of his bed, looking at him with the biggest, most pleading brown eyes he’d ever seen. She was in pajamas, her long brown curly hair still slightly damp from her bath. Sam checked the clock. It was 8:15, and her bedtime was 8:30. He put the pieces together right away. She was trying to avoid bedtime. He wondered if Missy knew where Evy was right then, or if she knew and was just hoping for a few minutes alone. Sam put his book down and answered,

“I’m doing homework. What are you doing?”

“Nuffin.” Evy answered.

“I see that.” Sam said. “Where’s mommy?”

“She sent me in here to tell you goodnight.”

“Well, in that case,” Sam said, getting up and setting her in his lap for a hug, “Goodnight.”

“I don’t wanna go to bed!” Evy whined slightly.

 _Ignore it,_ Sam reminded himself. “Go on, go to your room.”

“How’s it going?”

Sam looked up to see Missy in the doorway of his room. “There’s some foot dragging, but it’s not too bad.”

Missy chuckled but kept her best ‘mom means business’ voice. “Come on, kitten. Time for bed.”

“Mommy, can Sammy tuck me in?” Evy asked.

“Did you ask him?”

“Sammy?” Evy asked, turning those big pleading eyes back on him.

Sam gave a dramatic sigh, then answered, “I guess.”

“YAY!” Evy shouted, making Missy and Sam wince.

“Inside voice, please.” Missy said patiently.

Evy frowned; she forgot for a moment she was supposed to be quiet inside. “Sorry, mommy.”

“It’s okay. Sammy can tuck you in _if_ you promise to go to sleep.”

“Can I have a story?” Evy asked.

“If he will read to you, you can have one story.” Missy said. “You have to go to school tomorrow.”

“Okay, mommy.” Evy said. She turned around and grabbed Sam’s hand. “Come on, Sammy, let’s go.”

“I’m coming. Say goodnight to mommy.”

Evy ran back to her mom, who picked her up and hugged her. “Good night, kitten. Mommy loves you so much.”

“Love you too, mommy. Night night.” Evy kissed her mother’s cheek, then squirmed to get down.

“You sure you got this?” Missy asked.

“Yeah, I got it.” Sam said.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Missy said. “If she’s asleep in thirty minutes, I’ll let you stay up until ten.”

“Deal!” Sam said eagerly, running over to Evy’s room.

            Missy laughed, watching as Sam went over to Evy’s bedroom. She heard the two of them getting ready to go to bed, and slowly trudged to her own bedroom. As always, when Evy was lying down and she had the house to herself, Missy’s mind wandered to the other two people she wished was in the house. On the nightstand next to Missy’s bed was a framed photo that she looked at every night as she fell asleep. She picked it up and stared at it, her mind and heart wandering.

            She didn’t know why she loved John Winchester so much. When they’d met, he seemed to be a gruff know-it-all with no real personality. The two of them had bonded over losing their spouses to the supernatural. After a week together, Missy had moved in with John and his kids, supposedly on a temporary basis, but five weeks later, she was pregnant. Despite the whirlwind romance, Missy believed that she and John were a good match. She never doubted that he loved her.

“Come back home, babe.” Missy said, before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

            Missy’s peaceful sleep was interrupted by her buzzing alarm clock at exactly 5:45. She always got up thirty minutes earlier than she woke up Evy and Sam, so she could have a cup of coffee and a little peace before starting their day. Which was why she was so surprised when she walked to Evy’s room to check on her and heard her distinct giggle from the living room. She found a sight that lit her heart up. Evy was in John’s lap on the couch, with her stuffed cat Squish in front of her, talking off the ears of John and Dean. When she saw Missy standing in the doorway, instead of running to her like she normally did, Evy pointed at John.

“Look, mommy! Daddy and Deanie are home!”

“I see that.” A sleepy Missy said, walking over to John and giving him a kiss. “You want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.” John said. “Thank you.”

“Dean? You want some?”

“No thanks.” Dean said.

“Deanie? Will you make me pancakes please?” Evy asked.

“You don’t want me to make you breakfast?” Missy asked.

“I want Deanie to do it.” Evy insisted. She turned to Dean and turned on the puppy dog eyes she’d inherited from Sam. “Please Deanie?”

“Sure, kiddo. You want to help?”

            Missy watched the scene unfold in front of her. She was happy that John was home, but she saw the signs of a meltdown coming. Evy had only been going to school for a few weeks, so she didn’t know how Evy was going to react when Missy made her go to school with him home. But she was yawning, being clingy to Dean and John, and was starting to whine a little. Missy hoped that John wouldn’t snap at her, as he had a tendency to do when she was whiny. But the morning went smoothly. Sam got on the bus at 7:00. Missy helped Evy get dressed and get her shoes on. Evy’s backpack was already in the car, so Missy gave her another few minutes with her Daddy before she made the announcement.

“Okay, Kitten, give Daddy a hug and a kiss. It’s time to go to school.”

“Mommy, I don’t wanna go to school!” Evy whined.

“You have to go to school.” Missy said firmly. “Give your father and brother a kiss and come on.”

“I want to stay with Daddy!” Evy begged. “Please, mommy?”

Missy closed her eyes and counted to five. She understood Evy just wanted her father. She only had to go to preschool for four hours, but Missy understood that was an eternity for a three-year-old. When Missy opened her eyes again and said, she saw that Evy had tears in her eyes. As calmly and patiently as she could,

“You can see Daddy and Deanie after school. Come on and get in the car, sweetie.”

Evy backed away from the couch and stomped her foot firmly on the floor. “NO! I’m not going! I wanna stay home!”

Missy saw John move off the couch, his hand twitching to spank Evy for her tantrum, but Missy was quicker. She got on her knees, grabbed Evy’s arm firmly, and spoke clearly and firmly.

“Evelyn Abigail, enough. You are going to school. Get in the car so you can go to school NOW, or you will spend the day in your room when you get home. Now, what’s your choice?”

Evy’s bottom lip was trembling, but she reluctantly said, “I’ll go to the car.”

“Good girl.” Missy said, kissing the heartbroken toddler’s cheek. “Give daddy a kiss and get to the car.”

“’Kay, mommy.”

            Evy kissed John and Dean’s cheeks, then slumped out to the car like she was the embodiment of despair itself. Missy felt like the world’s crappiest parent, and the look on Dean’s face for forcing Evy to leave didn’t help at all. Missy ignored him and walked outside, where Evy was waiting by the back passenger door for her. She still refused to look at her mom, so Missy silently picked her up and put her in her car seat. Evy didn’t fight her anymore, but there were silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Missy wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and hug her to death, but both of them needed to calm down first.

            The four-mile ride to preschool seemed to take forever. Missy still felt terrible. Evy just didn’t throw tantrums. It wasn’t her style. Missy believed in empathy, and as a result, true tantrums very rarely happened in her house. At a stoplight, the answer occurred to her. The only time Evy really _did_ throw tantrums was when she was tired. Really tired. She remembered that Evy had been awake already when she got up that morning. Exactly how long had she been up? Missy pulled into the school’s driveway, thankful that they still had fifteen minutes to talk. When she turned the car off, she turned around to face Evy, who was still crying silently in the backseat.

“You okay?” Missy asked softly.

Evy sniffed and wiped her face. “No.”

“I know you want to be with your daddy today. And you can see him all you want after school. But you know you have to go to school.”

“But he’s been gone so long!” Evy said. “He might not be there when I get home.”

            Missy’s heart nearly shattered. John had been gone for over two weeks this time. Evy was so used to her father being gone that the thought of being away from him for even a few hours was terrifying. The tears were enough to nearly make Missy turn the car back on and take her home. But she was adamant about keeping Evy on a normal schedule and a regular routine, so she decided to just try and stem the flow of her tears.

“Kitten, listen to me. I promise your daddy will be home when you get back from school. You can hug him, get him to play with you, whatever you want. But you have to go to school.”

“How do you know?” Evy asked, hiccupping as she talked. “He didn’t stay home last time.”

 _How the hell do you have such a good memory?_ Missy thought. John had taken a hunt in the summer that led to one of the biggest fights the two of them had ever had. He had just gotten back from one hunt the night before, come home for eighteen hours, and snuck out of the house while Evy was sleeping and Sam was babysitting. She’d cried for her Daddy all day and night until she went to bed, and Missy had told him not to ever sneak out on Evy without saying goodbye again. Missy got out of the car and walked around so she could sit next to Evy in the backseat. She took one of Evy’s hands and asked,

“Hey. Who’s the boss in our house?”

Evy sniffed. “You are.”

“That’s right. I will not let Daddy leave today. He will be here at least until you get up in the morning.”

“You promise?” Evy asked.

“I promise.” Missy said. When Evy yawned, Missy got another idea. “Why don’t I get Daddy to pick you up halfway through your school day?”

Evy finally smiled. “Really?”

“Really. How’s that sound?” Missy asked.

“Thank you, mommy.” Evy said.

“You’re welcome, baby.” Missy said. “I’m sorry you’re so sad right now.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” Evy said.

“I forgive you. You forgive me?” Missy asked.

“I don’t got nothing to forgive you for, mommy.” Evy said. “Can I has hug now?”

“You bet you can. Come here.” Missy picked Evy up out of the car seat and eagerly squeezed her in a rib crushing hug. “I love you so much, Kitten.” “Love you too, mommy.”

“Come on. Let’s go to school.” Missy said, patting Evy’s leg.

            Missy walked Evy into school, giving her a few extra cuddles and kisses at the door. Before she left, Evy was laughing. Missy cautioned Evy’s teacher, a wonderful, grandmotherly woman in her seventies, that Evy had been through a tough morning and hadn’t had much sleep the night before. The teacher pulled Missy out in the hallway and reassured her,

“Evy’s one of the sweetest, kindest children I’ve ever met. We all have bad days, darling. It doesn’t make you a bad mommy. It makes you human. Evy will be just fine. You go get some rest.”

            Missy left the building feeling better about herself, but still determined to get to the bottom of what was going on. Her mother’s instinct, together with the rational part of her brain, told her that someone had woken Evy up that morning. She hadn’t just woken up early on her own. When she made it back to the house, she opened the front door, saw that Dean and John were both sleeping, and slammed the front door hard. Both Dean and John jumped up from their respective spots, guns out and drawn. They lowered the guns at the sight of Missy glaring in the doorway.

“Which one of you woke her up this morning?”

“What are you talking about?” John asked.

“Someone woke Evy up on purpose this morning. She doesn’t wake up early unless she’s sick. She wasn’t sick, so someone woke her up.” Missy said. “Who was it?”

“It was me.” Dean said. “I went in to check on her when we got home. She woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep.”

“What time was that?” Missy asked.

“Around three.”

            Missy nearly screamed. She didn’t believe that Dean had just gone in to check on Evy. She had discovered, after Evy was born, that she would wake up in the middle of the night, not because of normal baby wants and needs, but because Dean would go in her room and shake her awake. Missy had talked to him about it, but after catching him twice more had finally banned him from Evy’s room when she was sleeping.

“Dean, did you wake her up?”

“No!” Dean said. “Not on purpose.”

“Dean…” John said. “Did you wake up your sister?”

Dean faltered under his father’s tone. “Yes, sir.”

“Damn it, Dean!” Missy shouted, slamming her hand against the wall in frustration.

“I just wanted to see her for a minute…”

“I told you not to wake her up in the middle of the night.” Missy seethed. “I’m the one who takes care of her the majority of the time, so I am in charge of taking care of her. That means I make the rules.” “Geez, I’m sorry!” Dean said.

“Dean…”

“John, I’ve got this.” Missy snapped. “Dean, if you wanted to see her, I would have let you take her to school or pick her up. Take her to the park or out for ice cream. There are a thousand other things you can do. But you do not wake her up. Understand?”

“I’m sorry!” Dean repeated.

“Are you? Really?” Missy asked.

“He said he was.” John said. “It’s over now.”

“No, it isn’t.” Missy said. “I’ve given you a ton of chances with this, Dean. The next time your father has a hunt, you’re staying behind.”

“You can’t do that!” Dean protested.

“She most certainly can, Dean.” John said. “Next hunt, you’re benched.”

“May I be excused sir?” Dean asked through clenched teeth.

“Yes.” John said. “And work on your attitude. I expect you to give Missy a proper apology.”

“Yes, sir.”

            Dean stomped down the hall towards his bedroom. Missy sighed; for the second time that day, she had made a kid mad at her. She rubbed her nose to fend off a coming headache when John said something to fray her nerves even more.

“He just wanted to see her.”

“Well, you can’t wake a three-year-old up at three o’clock in the morning and then be surprised when she has a tantrum at seven thirty.” Missy snapped.

“I was ready to deal with that tantrum…”

“How John? By spanking her? Is that your answer to everything?” Missy asked.

“That’s not fair. She needs to learn to respect you…”

“She _does._ Do you want to know why she threw that tantrum? Because she was terrified that if she went to school you wouldn’t be here when she got home. Because of your little stunt with that last hunt, she’s scared that if you aren’t in her eyeline it means you aren’t coming back.” Missy explained. “She also threw it because she was tired. And if you had spanked her, all it would have done was make her more confused and more miserable and wonder to herself why Daddy doesn’t want to be with her.”

John was stunned at Missy’s explanation. “She really thinks that?”

“Yes. Which is why you are going to pick her up at 10:30. You will bring her back here, take a nap with her, and then spend the day with her. Understand?”

“Got it.” John said. “Will you wake me up if…?”

“No, John. I will not wake you up. Set an alarm or don’t go to sleep, I really don’t care. But you will be at her school at 10:30 on the dot to pick her up. It’s on you.” Missy said.

“I’ll do it.” John said. “Promise.”

            The look of guilt on his face melted Missy’s heart. She knew he was trying, and she felt bad for blowing up at him. She walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, and he gratefully returned her hug. He loved this woman so much, almost as much as he had Mary. She was trying to give him a second chance at life, and he intended to take it. “I’m glad you’re home.” Missy said sincerely. “Stay for a little while this time? Please?”

“I will.” John said.

“Good.” Missy checked the clock. 8:42. She grinned. “You know, if you’re not too tired, you can play with mommy a little bit before you go pick up Evy…”

“I’m never too tired for that.” John said.

“Okay. Go take a shower and change first, though. You stink.”

John chuckled and playfully swatted her butt. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m gonna go talk to Dean for a second.”            

Missy walked down the hall to the room Dean shared with Sammy. The door was open, so she didn’t have to worry about knocking and being asked to leave him alone. He had taken off his jacket and shoes and was laying on the bed against the headboard. He didn’t seem angry, just sad. Even though it was open, Missy knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” A dejected Dean said.

Missy sat down on Sam’s bed a few feet from Dean’s. “Dean, I’m sorry that I blew up with you.”

“I deserved it.”

“No. No, you didn’t deserve it.” Missy said. “I should have talked to you about it, not yelled at you like I did. I know you love Evy and you just want to see her. But you not letting her sleep is the reason she threw that tantrum this morning.”

“It is?” Dean asked.

“Yes, Dean. She was tired and she didn’t want to go to school because she thought it meant that you and your daddy wouldn’t be here when she got back. But she was tired, so she didn’t think to stop and tell me that.” Missy explained. “I had to find out after she cried the entire way to school.”

“She was crying?” Dean asked, guilt finally making their way into his features.

“Yes.” Missy said. “Look, Dean, I know you still want to help take care of Sam and your sister. I get that. I’m not trying to take that away from you. But I’m the parent here. To Evy and, even though I know you don’t like to admit it, Sam.”

“I know.” Dean said. “I just don’t feel useful at home anymore ‘cause Sam doesn’t need me.”

“That’s just it, Dean. He does. Just because I take care of them most of the time, doesn’t mean that I don’t need your help. The best thing that you can do to help me? Do you want to know what it is?”

Dean nodded eagerly.

“When you and your dad get home from a hunt, ask me if I need some time to myself, or alone time with your dad. If they’re not in school for the day or doing something else important, you can babysit them.”

“Really? Sam won’t like having a babysitter.”

“Sam doesn’t have to know, does he?” Missy answered with a wink. “I guess not.” Dean said. “Look, I know I messed up, but can you please reconsider me not going on the next hunt?”

“No.” Missy said. “Hunting’s what you’d miss the most, so that’s what you get taken away from you.”

“I’m seventeen!” Dean protested.

“And still living under this roof. As long as that happens, you willingly break a rule, you get punished. Understand me, young man?” Missy asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dean said miserably. “Do I have to stay in here?”

“Nope. I got a nice long list of house chores for you to do. Which I’ll give you after you get some rest.” Missy answered.

“Yes, ma’am. Thanks.” Dean said.

“You’re welcome.” Missy answered. “And Dean? I know I’m not your mom, but you know I love you, right?”

“I love you too.” Dean said back.

“Okay, kiddo. Get some sleep.” Missy said. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” Missy said.

Her motherly instinct took over. She knew Dean hated it, but he was already drifting to sleep. She wrapped him up in a blanket, brushed his hair out of his face, and kissed his cheek.

“Sweet dreams.” She said as she shut the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mommy…”

            The raspy voice immediately woke Missy out of a deep sleep. John was snoring beside her. Missy climbed out of bed and walked down to the hall to Evy’s room. Evy let out a cough that made the hair on Missy’s neck stand up. She turned on Evy’s bedroom light and saw her sitting up in her bed, crying, with a hand on her ear.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Missy asked, though she had a bad feeling she already knew.

“It hurts.” Evy whined.

“What hurts? Your ear?”

“Yeah.” Evy said.

“Okay. Does anything else hurt?” Missy asked.

“My throat and my head.” Evy cried.

“Okay. Okay, sweetie, come here.” Missy said, reaching over and picking up the distraught Evy.

“It hurts, mommy.”

“I know, baby. Come on, I’m gonna try to make you feel better, okay?” Missy said. “Just hang on to mommy.”

            Missy tried singing to Evy to calm her down, but she was beyond comfort at the moment. Her ear hurt too badly for her to listen to Missy’s voice, so Missy pulled the earache medicine from the bathroom cabinet and prepared a dose for Evy. There was no doubt now that Evy was miserable; she took the medicine with no fight whatsoever. Missy took the thermometer and helped Evy hold it in her mouth with one hand while stroking her hair with the other. Just as she feared, there was a fever. 101.2. _Damn it,_ Missy thought. She put the thermometer away and bent down to face Evy, who was sitting on the toilet seat still looking miserable. It had only been a half-hour since Missy came to get her, but it felt like days.

“You feel any better?”

“A wittle.” Evy said, still sniffing.

“Here. Blow.” Missy held a tissue to Evy’s nose, and Evy blew weakly. As Missy threw the tissue away, she asked, “Do you think you can go back to sleep?”

“Can I seep with you?” Evy asked.

“Sure.”

Missy picked her back up again and headed toward the bedroom. Evy laid her head down on her mother’s shoulder, but that seemed to make the earache worse. She picked her head back up and grabbed her ear again. That seemed to settle the question for Missy. She sat back down on the bed, calling a now stirring John to wake him up.

“John, wake up.” Missy said. “Come on, wake up. We’ve got a problem.”

John opened his eyes and realized that there was someone else in the room with them. “Huh? What’s going on?” Missy flipped the light on beside the bed. “Evy’s sick.”

“How sick?” John asked. Missy didn’t rattle easily, and her voice was shaking. “What’s wrong, little one?”

“I don’t feel so good, Daddy.” Evy said, hand still on her ear.

“She’s got a fever. And she says her throat and her head hurts. Do you think we should take her to the h-o-s-p-i-t-a-l?” Missy asked.

“How high’s the fever?” John asked, placing a hand on Evy’s forehead.

“101.”

John thought it over before answering. “Not yet. If the fever gets any higher, we’ll take her to the ER. We’ll take her to her doctor first thing in the morning.”

“Daddy, will you go too?” Evy asked pitifully. “I scared of the doctor.”

“You bet I will.” John promised. “How’s your ear?”

“A wittle better.” Evy said. “Still feels like there’s stuff in there.”

“Okay. Come on.” John said, pulling Evy from Missy’s lap.

“Where are you going?”

“Sammy always slept better with ear infections when he was sitting up. I’m gonna take her to the living room and sit up on the couch.” John said.

“Want mommy too.” Evy said, reaching out a hand for Missy.

“I’m coming, baby.”

            John picked up Evy and walked with her towards the living room, Missy following close behind. After a few more minutes of Evy whimpering and crying, she finally fell asleep, leaning against John’s chest wrapped up in a blanket. Missy laid down beside them, and all three got a fitful two more hours of sleep. Sam woke up and, concerned about Evy, wanted to stay home from school. Missy convinced him to go, promising that he could help take care of Evy that weekend. Missy made an appointment with Evy’s doctor, and at 10:00 that morning, the three of them were in the waiting room.

            The rest of the family took turns holding Evy. Three long days later, Evy’s sickness was finally starting to fade. Her ears were no longer hurting, her fever was gone, her throat didn’t hurt anymore, and she was left with a cough and a little congestion. Sitting in John’s lap Sunday night, watching a movie with the rest of the family, Evy looked up into John’s face and said,

“Hey, Daddy, I gotta tell you somefing.”

“What is it, little one?” John asked.

“You a good snuggwer.”

John chuckled. “What?”

“You a good snuggwer.” Evy repeated.

“I’m a good snuggler?” John asked.

With a grin, Evy nodded. “Yeah.”

“Thank you.” John said. “You’re a good snuggler too.”

“I wish you’d do it more.”

            John knew that Evy hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty with her innocent remark, but she couldn’t have done a better job if she had done it on purpose. John knew he wasn’t home nearly enough. He missed school events, holidays, birthdays, and everyday moments like this, and at times it hurt so much that he could barely breathe. But at that moment, looking in Evy’s eyes, he didn’t have to think about what he was missing; he only had to think about what was in front of him just then. John squeezed her and kissed her, then replied,

“I wish I could do it more too, little one.”

“Can I seep with you and mommy again?” Evy asked.

“You bet.” John said. “You bet you can.”

            Evy grinned and turned back to the movie, pulling John’s arms around her waist. Before the movie was over, Missy saw that they were both sleeping. She ushered Sam to bed, reminded Dean to be quiet, and said goodnight to both of them. Once they were gone, Missy sat down beside the two of them. She took a long look at the both of them. She knew John would be gone again soon, but right now, she had the two people she loved the most in the world right beside her, and the other two down the hall.

“Good night, you two. I love you.”


	3. Chapter 3

John pulled into the driveway, happy to finally be home. Evy was in school, so hopefully, he could surprise her. The hunt had been long and hard, and he and Dean needed lots of rest. Dean parked the Impala and John parked the truck. Missy wasn’t home, so John pulled out his spare key and opened the door. Once they walked inside, it was John and Dean that received the surprise. When they were inside, it was Dean that first noticed it. A set of eyes peaking at them from underneath a blanket on the couch. Both of them drew their guns at the unexpected intruder. But when the intruder came out from under the blanket, both of them were stunned. The first thing they saw, after the eyes under the blanket, was a tuft of hair the same beige color as the couch. A tongue panting and a tail wagging.

It took a moment to realize that it was a dog. It seemed to be a friendly dog, but it was one they didn’t have. Dean and John looked at each other, both of them puzzled, but before they could say anything, the front door opened. Missy walked in with a bag of groceries. The dog jumped off the couch and ran to her, nipping at her heels. Dean took the groceries from Missy and walked them to the kitchen, while Missy picked up the restless dog.

“Hi, honey.” She said, kissing John’s cheek while still holding the dog.

“Hi, honey.” John responded in kind. “Who is this?”

“This is Sugar.” Missy said.

“Why is Sugar here?”

“Because he’s your daughter’s new dog.” Missy said, placing Sugar back down on the floor.

 _Just what I was afraid of,_ John thought. “When did she get a dog?”

Missy answered as she started to put the groceries away. “It’s been a little over a week.”

“A _week_?” John asked.

“Yep.” Missy said.

She was trying to keep an even tone; she knew he was unhappy, but she didn’t care. She’d known this argument was coming, and she had prepared herself for it. Missy never made a major decision about Evy without consulting John, but because of their unusual living arrangement, she made all the minor ones. The arguments came because the line of major decision and minor decision was different between the two of them. Dean put the last of the groceries away and headed to his room, sensing the tension between his dad and Missy.

“You didn’t think I needed to know about this?”

“No, I didn’t.” Missy said, pulling out what she needed to make dinner.

“Why not?” John asked. “Whether my kid has a pet or not? I think that’s a both parent decision.”

“When both parents are here, yes.” Missy said. When she saw his eyes flash hurt, she sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to make you feel guilty here. But Evy’s had a lot of trouble making friends at school. The neighbors were moving, and they couldn’t take Sugar with them. Evy fell in love with him. I thought it was a good way to teach her responsibility.”

“She’s five years old!” John countered.

“I thought about that. Sam was with us, and he fell in love with Sugar too. He agreed to help Evy until she was old enough to do it on her own.” Missy said. “So far, she’s done great. She feeds Sugar twice a day, before she goes to school and before she goes to bed, makes sure he has water, plays with him, and even helped Sam train him.”

“He’s trained? Must not be a very good guard dog.” John said. “He didn’t even bark when me and Dean came in the door.”

“He’s still a puppy.” Missy said. “And you will _not_ criticize that dog with Evy around. Got it?”

“Got it.” John mumbled unhappily.

He wanted to respond that Evy needed to learn how to take criticism or she’d grow up to be too sensitive for her own good, but he knew better. He didn’t want to start a proper fight. Before he could say anything else, the front door opened again, and Evy and Sam walked in together. Missy heard Evy’s backpack hit the floor, and she decided to let it go. She’d been trying to get Evy into the habit of putting her backpack in her room, but it hadn’t quite set in yet. It wasn’t something worth getting upset about, so Missy decided to file it away for later. An excited Evy ran into the kitchen and barreled herself into John’s side.

“DADDY!” 

Despite the tension of just a few moments earlier, John picked her up and swung her around, making her giggle hysterically. “How’s my best girl?”

“I’m glad you’re home, Daddy. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, little one.” John said sincerely.

“Daddy, did you see Sugar?” Evy said.

“I did.” John said.

“Where is Sugar?” Evy asked.

“He went to your room.” Missy said.

“I gotta go check on him, Daddy.”

            John placed her down on the floor, and she eagerly ran to her room. John and Missy both heard her greet Dean, who made her laugh too. John walked over to Missy, who was standing by the sink washing vegetables to make a salad. He decided to take advantage of their rare moment alone by wrapping both his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. Missy smiled, but begged John,

“I know you’re not happy about the dog. But he’ll be good for her.”

“I trust you.” John said.

“Mommy.” Evy had come back into the kitchen and grabbed John’s arm. “I need you and Daddy in the living room, please.” “For what, honey?” Missy asked.

“It’s a surprise.” Evy said. “Pleeeeasssseee?”

“Okay, okay.” John said. He couldn’t get over how much she sounded like Sam when she did that. “We’re coming.”

            An impatient Evy was waiting in the living room for him and Missy. Sugar was sitting on the floor. Dean was already on the couch. Sam stood there with a bag of dog treats, which Sugar kept an intense eye on. Once everyone was seated, Evy announced,

“Me and Sammy finished training Sugar. I want to show you guys what he can do.”

“Okay!” Missy said. “Go ahead.”

Evy turned towards Sugar, cleared her throat, and said clearly, “Sugar, speak.”

Sugar stood on all fours and barked loudly.

“Good boy, Sugar.” Evy said, looking to Sam, who gave Sugar a treat from the bag.

“Sugar, roll over.”

Sugar laid back down and rolled completely over, standing back on his feet once he was done. “Good boy, Sugar.” Evy said, and the snack process was repeated.

“Sugar, mean face.” Sugar bared his teeth and growled, but didn’t move from his spot.

“Stop.” On Evy’s command, Sugar immediately went back to the panting, sweet dog he’d been before. “Good boy, Sugar.”

            The mean face trick started to change John’s mind about the dog. He still wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but that trick could definitely be useful. Missy had been one of the best hunters he’d ever seen, so he had no doubt that Evy and Sam were protected with her. But having Sugar could end up being an extra layer of protection. The next trick blew his mind.

“Sugar, get mommy.” Sugar ran to Missy, pushing her foot and whining loudly. “Sugar, get Sammy.” Sugar went to Sam and did the same thing.

“Good boy, Sugar.” Evy said, and Sam gave him his final snack. “What do you think?” she asked, grinning, clearly very proud of herself.

“You did great, honey!” Missy said. “You too, Sam.” “You can keep him.” John said simply, with an air of finality.

Missy shook her head and glared at John.

Luckily for himself, John caught on to what he did. “You did do great, little one. I’m proud of you. Both of you.”            

The praise from John lit up the faces of both Evy and Sam. Evy climbed into John’s lap for another hug, and even Sam joined in for a now rare display of affection. Sam put the bag of treats up, and Evy asked Missy,

“Mommy? Can I take Sugar for a walk?”

“I can’t take you right now, baby. I’m sorry.” Missy said.

“I’ll take you, kiddo.” Dean said. “If it’s okay with your mom.”

“You sure, Dean? You just got back.” Missy said. “I can take her after dinner if you want to get some rest.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll go with her.”

“Okay. I take her to the park down the road. She needs to take the leash and run with Sugar a few laps, then she can play for thirty minutes.” Missy explained.

“Thank you, mommy!” Evy said, surprised she was being allowed to play at the park on a school night.

“You’re welcome, baby. Do not, for any reason, wander away from where Dean can see you. If you do, you stay in your room for a week. Understand?”

“I understand, mommy.” Evy promised.

“Okay. Go, have fun.” Missy said.

            Dean walked slowly down the road with Evy and Sugar, enjoying his alone time with Evy. He wasn’t crazy about the dog either, but the mutt wasn’t that bad, and doing something simple for once, like playing with Evy, made it worth it. He supervised her as she ran Sugar around the small soccer field in the park, then let her go towards the play area. Sugar followed, and Dean played with them for a few moments before a beautiful girl caught his eye.

“Hey, baby girl, I’m going right over there to talk to a friend. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Evy said.

“Okay. Remember, stay where I can see and hear you, okay?”

“I will, Deanie.” Evy promised.

            Dean went over to talk to the girl. Things were going well, and the girl, whose name was Nancy, was just giving Dean her number when Dean heard a string of sounds that made his heart stop. He heard a scream of “LET ME GO!” and “HELP!”, followed by the growl and barking of a dog, and finally, the sound of crying. Dean looked over and saw Evy lying on the ground, crying hysterically, and Sugar standing beside her, barking ferociously at a guy that was running away as fast as he could towards the other side of the park. Dean ran to Evy and grabbed her arms, looking her up and down for any sign of injury.

“Baby girl, what happened? Are you hurt?”

“He grabbed me!” Evy cried. “He tr…tried to ta…take me away!”

“Who did?” Dean asked.

Evy pointed to the other end of the park. “He did. The m…man running a…away.”

“Okay, stay here, baby girl.”

            Dean had every intention of running after the son of a bitch, but he never got the chance. A crowd had started to gather, but it was Sugar that caught Dean’s attention. He had caught up to Evy’s would be kidnapper, tackled him, and was currently jumping all over him trying to bite every available surface. Someone had already gotten the attention of a cop who was walking down the street just a few feet away from the park. Dean picked up the still distraught Evy. She cried and shook against Dean, but somehow was able to tell the cops what had happened. Dean wanted to kill the guy, but was instructed to take Evy home, calm her down, and wait for a detective.

“Deanie, where’s Sugar?”

“He’s on the other side of the park, baby girl.” Dean said. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him before we go home.”

“Deanie, I want to thank him. He saved me.” Evy said.

“What do you mean he saved you?”

“He sc…scared him a…away.” Evy said.

“Okay, kiddo. Come on.”

            Dean walked her over to the other side of the park, then set her back down. Evy called Sugar, who was still barking as if he could summon the guy back to the park so he could bite him some more. A sniffling Evy grabbed Sugar around the neck and squeezed him tight. Sugar stopped barking and started whining.

“Thank you, Sugar.” Evy said. “I’m okay. You scared him away.”

“Yeah, Sugar.” Dean said, reaching over to scratch the eager pup’s ears. “You did good. Very good.”            

Evy, who was fiercely independent, normally hated to be carried anywhere. But she begged Dean to pick her up and carry her home. So in one arm, Dean carried Evy, and with the other, he held the leash and guided a still whining Sugar home. Sugar kept jumping on Dean’s leg, wanting to get to a still upset Evy. When Dean opened the front door, he was prepared to be peppered with questions. They’d left over two hours earlier, and the sun was now going down.

“Dean, where were you?” Missy asked, clearly worried.

John appeared in the doorway, angry and ready to yell. But Missy saw Evy’s face, still damp from crying, and her worry turned to panic. John was a little slower to realize something was wrong. Only when Evy reached for Missy did he hear the fear in her voice.

“Mommy…”

“What happened?” Missy asked, taking the distraught Evy from Dean’s arms. Evy immediately wrapped both arms around Missy’s neck and refused to let go.

Dean let Sugar go from the leash and explained, “We were at the park and some son of a bitch tried to take her.”

“WHAT?” Missy nearly screamed.

“Dean, what the hell are you talking about?” John asked.

“Baby, is that true?” Missy asked.

“Yes.” Evy said.

“Oh, my baby…” Missy said, squeezing Evy’s waist as tightly as Evy was squeezing her neck.

“Dean, where were you when this was happening?” John asked with clenched teeth. “Why weren’t you watching her?”

“John! This isn’t Dean’s fault.” Missy said. “Evy needs you right now.”

John clearly wanted to yell at Dean again, but Evy had an arm out, looking for his comfort too. “I’m here, little one. You’re safe now.” “The cop that came to the park said there would be a detective here later tonight.” Dean said.

Missy nodded. “Thank you, Dean.”

“It’s not me you should thank.” Dean said. “It was Sugar.”

“Sugar?” Missy asked.

Evy finally took her head off her mother’s shoulder. “Sugar saved me, mommy. He scared the bad guy away.”

Missy handed Evy to John and picked Sugar up off the floor. “That settles it. Welcome to the family, cutie pie.”

Even John, who was in no way a dog person, reached over and pet Sugar. “Yeah, buddy. Thank you.”

            A very pleased Sugar licked John’s hand, and hung around Evy for the rest of the night. Evy talked to the detective and told him what she remembered, and the detective commended her for being so brave. Evy refused to sleep alone that night, a request neither parent had the heart to deny. Sam and Dean stood on either side of her as she was getting ready to go to sleep.

“Good night, Cricket. We love you.” Sam said.

“Yeah, kiddo. Love you.”

“Good night, Sammy. Night, Deanie. Love you.”

Five minutes later, an exhausted Evy was fast asleep, her thumb stuck in her mouth. Missy had broken her of that habit months ago, but she let it go this time. Sugar slept at her feet. John was feeling guilty; he knew how to protect Evy from anything supernatural, but it had taken a puppy to keep her safe from some maniac trying to kidnap her. Missy had an arm around Evy’s middle, not willing to let her go.

“We almost lost her today.” He whispered.

Missy smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, something she did with Evy when Evy was upset. “But we didn’t.”

John grabbed Missy’s hand and kissed it tenderly. “Good night, love.” “Good night, my handsome prince.”

“Let’s go to sleep.” John said. “Good night, my girls.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Evy was sick of her whole family. She loved all of them, but it seemed that all they were doing lately was fighting. It had started ten weeks earlier, when Sam had come home jumping up and down because he was so happy. The way that mommy and Sammy had explained it to her seemed simple. Sammy had gotten accepted to college, and because he’d done so well in school, it was already paid for. There had been a few tears on Evy’s part when Sammy told her that the college was in California. Evy was smart, and she was good at geography. They lived in South Dakota. Sammy was going to California. She’d never been away from Sammy for longer than a couple of days. If he was so far away, would she ever see him again? As she packed up her things for school the next day, she thought about what Sammy had told her. He’d pulled her into his lap, and as he gave her one of what Evy called his “teddy bear hugs”, he told her,

“I am always gonna be your brother. I’ll always love you no matter what. If you need to call me every night, you do that. If you need me to call you, I’ll do that. I’ll be home every single chance I get. Okay?”

Evy had sniffed and squeezed him. “Okay, Sammy.”

“Besides, do you think I could go that long without doing this?” Sammy had asked as he took his fingers and crept them up and down Evy’s side, making her giggle and try to tickle him back.

            For a week and a half, everything had been great. Missy had been bragging about Sam to friends. Since Sam was happy and Missy was happy, Evy was happy for him too. When Sam and Missy had promised that she could go visit him in California, she’d stopped being so worried about him moving. But then Daddy had come. Sam had shown him the letter, but instead of the happy reaction he’d gotten out of Missy and Evy, John had exploded.

“You are not leaving this family!”

            Evy had been sent to her room the second John exploded. She went to her bedroom scared; she had heard her parents fight before, usually about her, but never had the argument been so heated. Eventually, Dean had come in to find her crying. He’d held her until she went to sleep. The next morning, when she’d woken up, John was gone again and Missy was in the living room. She looked like she hadn’t gotten any sleep at all. Evy had asked her if everything was okay, and Missy had explained to her that not only was Sam moving, they were moving with him.

“But mommy, isn’t that a good thing? Why were you and Daddy so angry at each other last night?” Evy had asked. “You guys really scared me.”

“Yes, it is a good thing.” Missy said. “And I’m sorry we scared you fighting. We won’t do that again.”            

But they had done it again. They weren’t shouting at each other, but John didn’t call as much, and when he did, he only wanted to talk to Evy. Sam had eventually explained, against Missy’s wishes and only after a promise from Evy that she wouldn’t tell, that John hadn’t wanted him to leave and would only allow it to happen if Missy and Evy moved there too. Evy promised she wouldn’t, and the moving process started right after that.

            Missy had tried to be cheerful about it, but Evy could tell she wasn’t happy with John. She also didn’t talk to Evy about anything anymore. Missy had gone into her room while Evy was in school and packed it up for her, getting rid of toys and books she didn’t use anymore. Evy had been very upset with that; she wanted to pack up her own room. Missy had apologized for it, but Evy could tell she was more focused on moving than she was on Evy. Missy had also set up Evy’s bedroom without any of Evy’s input, again making her upset. But Evy hadn’t said anything that time. That was three days earlier, and Evy was about to leave for her first day at her new school. Sam had gone with her to meet her teacher the day before, and Missy, trying to be nice, had told her she could walk to school by herself.

            There was just one problem. Evy didn’t want to walk to school by herself. Yes, it wasn’t far, and she could still see their house from the school, but she wanted someone to go with her. It was her first day in a brand-new place, and she was really scared. She wanted to decorate her room the way she wanted it. She wanted her stuff back that her mother had thrown away without her permission. She wanted her parents to be nice to each other again. She wanted someone to pay attention to her. She wanted so many things that seemed impossible right now.

            School actually went fine. Evy was surprised at how much she liked it. Her school in South Dakota had been easy. This one wasn’t hard, but she didn’t think she was going to be as bored here as she had been at home. She walked in the house excited to tell her mother about it, only to find her arguing on the phone with her father yet again. Evy went to her room and started on her homework. She came out when she got hungry, and found her mom hurriedly unpacking boxes and wiping her eyes. She made herself a sandwich and took it to her room, then went to bed when she was supposed to. The next three days were almost exactly the same. Evy got up, waved goodbye to her mom, walked to school, came home, and ate dinner by herself. John and Dean came back home Friday night, three days after she’d started school, and both had given her a hug but said nothing else to her.

            Saturday morning, Evy woke up feeling lonely. She’d hoped that the lack of attention the week before had been because of her going to school and everyone else being busy, but now she knew. Her family had forgotten about her. They didn’t care anymore. Evy grabbed Sugar and cried silently into his neck.  Sugar tried to lick her tears away to make her feel better, but it didn’t work. She laid there crying for what felt like hours, until there was a knock at her bedroom door. Evy quickly wiped her tears away, not wanting anyone to see she’d been crying. She didn’t want to give them a reason to fight all over again. She didn’t invite whoever it was inside, but after a minute or two, the door opened anyway.

“Good morning, Cricket.” Sam said with a smile.

Evy waved at him halfheartedly, not looking up into his face.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked immediately, coming in and sitting on her bed. “Have you been crying?”

Evy shook her head ‘no’, but Sam didn’t believe her.

“Are you sure?” Sam asked.

Evy shook her head ‘yes’.

“Cricket, are you sick?” Sam asked. “Come on, baby, tell me. Something’s wrong. Talk to me.”

That started Evy’s tears flowing again.

“Are you mad at me?” Sam asked. Evy shook her head, but Sam was done with the nonverbal answers; he grabbed Evy’s chin and pulled it up so she was looking him in the eye. “Why aren’t you talking?”

            Instead of responding, Evy let go of Sugar and launched herself onto Sam’s lap. She was crying again, but this time was different. Now she felt like someone was listening, and someone cared. Even if her mom and dad didn’t. Sam held her for a minute, knowing better than to try and force her to talk while she was still upset. Once she’d calmed down, Sam asked,

“Why are you so upset? Is it because of the move?” Evy shook her head again, and Sam got impatient with her not talking. “Enough. Talk to me.”

“I haven’t said anything since Tuesday.” Evy said, wiping her face.

Sam was stunned; surely he had misunderstood her. “What do you mean you haven’t said anything?”

“I haven’t talked to anybody since Tuesday. I haven’t said a word, and no one’s cared.”

“Baby, that’s not possible. It’s Saturday.” Sam said. “You mean to tell me no one’s talked to you at all in four days?”

“Nobody. Mommy’s been fighting with Daddy and she won’t talk to me anymore. You’ve been gone and Daddy and Deanie have been asleep since they got back last night.” Evy said miserably.

“Baby…” Sam said, not knowing how to respond. “Why didn’t _you_ say something? Why didn’t you call me?”

“I never had to before.” Evy pointed out.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, baby.” Sam said, taking her in for another hug. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I was unpacking my dorm room and getting ready for classes to start.”

“Do you have to leave soon?” Evy said, leaning against Sam’s chest like she’d done as a baby.

“No.” Sam said, leaning down to kiss her hair. “No, I don’t. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“I just want someone to talk to me.” Evy said.

“I’m here now. What do you want to talk about?” Sam asked. When she didn’t answer right away, he asked, “How’s school?”

“I like school, but I don’t have any friends yet.” Evy said.

“It’s only been three days. Give it a little more time.” Sam said. “You’ll find a friend.”

“I hope so.” Evy said.

“You want some advice?”

“Sure.” Evy said. “What is it?”

“Well, you’re new to school, right?” Evy nodded, and Sam continued, “Think about it this way. You’re new to school and everybody else is new to you. Be really friendly with everybody else. Talk to someone and ask if you can play with them or go sit with someone that no one else is sitting with. Show them that you want to be friends, and you’ll make a friend faster. Does that make sense?”

Evy smiled. “Yeah, it does. Thanks, Sammy.”

“You’re welcome, baby.” Sam said. He suddenly felt guilty; he was the reason she was struggling now. “I’m so sorry you had to move because of me.”

“I’m not.” Evy said. “I’m glad we’re close to you. I’m sorry too. I know you wanted to live on your own like a real grown-up.”

Sam chuckled. “I do live on my own. But I’m glad you’re close too.” He rocked Evy a little, then reminded her, “I know mommy and daddy have been fighting a lot lately. If it ever gets bad and you want somewhere else to go, call me. Anytime. I’ll come get you and take you back to my dorm with me. Okay?”

“Okay, thanks Sammy.” Evy said.

“You’re welcome.” Sam replied, then heard a rumble. He checked the clock and saw it was after ten. “I think there’s a bear in here. What do you think?”

“I just see a big teddy bear.” Evy said, reaching up and touching to bridge of Sam’s nose.

“Oh, yeah?” Sam said, tickling her stomach to make her giggle. “Why don’t you and I get some breakfast?”

“Okay.” Evy said.

“You want to go see my school? You can eat in the cafeteria there, then I’ll show you around campus.” Sam offered.

“You don’t have to go to school today?” Evy asked.

“I start classes on Monday.” Sam said. “I don’t have to do anything today but hang out with you.” Evy grinned. “Deal.”

“Go outside and wait on me. I have to talk to mom first.” “Are you gonna tell her about what we talked about?” Evy asked.

“Do you not want me to?” Sam asked. “I won’t if you really don’t want it, but I think you should tell her. I don’t think she’s been ignoring you on purpose, she just needs to be reminded.”

Evy thought it over. “I don’t know how to tell her without hurting her feelings. Will you tell her and ask her if we can talk about it when you bring me home tonight?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sam ushered Evy out the front door. Missy was in the living room, working on putting up the books she’d packed and brought with her. “Hey, mom, can I talk to you?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“So, I had a talk with Evy. She’s pretty upset.” Sam said.

Concerned, Missy stopped what she was doing and looked at Sam, confused and hurt. “What? She hasn’t said anything.”

“That’s sort of the whole problem in a nutshell. She hasn’t said anything at all, to anyone, since Tuesday and no one’s noticed.”

            Missy started to argue that it wasn’t possible, but she realized that Sam was right. She had noticed that Evy was withdrawn, but she had just assumed it was because of the move. Missy also realized she hadn’t talked to Evy about school at all, hadn’t put her to bed since they’d moved, hadn’t even given her a hug or told her “I love you”. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. How could she have been so forgetful?

“Where is she?”

“I told her I’d take her to school and show her around.” Sam said. “She’s not really in the mood to talk right now. She’s kind of hurt. Let me take her for a few hours, cheer her up, then I’ll bring her back later tonight and you guys can talk. Deal?”

“Yeah.” Missy said. She wanted to talk right then, but she knew Evy. Evy would feel pressured to forgive her if they talked right then, and Missy wanted it to be genuine. “Thanks, Sammy.”

“You’re welcome. We’ll come back around dinner time.”

“You want a home cooked meal instead of school cafeteria food?” Missy asked.

“I’d love it.” Sam said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

            It was a long day for Missy. The guilt threatened to eat her alive. She loved Sam, Dean, and John, but Evy was her reason for getting up in the morning. Missy had made it her life’s mission to make Evy’s life as happy as she could, even if it meant sacrificing parts of her own life in order to make it happen. But all week, Evy had been miserable right in front of Missy’s face, and she hadn’t even noticed. She came up with a plan and woke up John and Dean to make it happen.

            When Evy got back home a few hours later, the first thing she noticed was that everyone was in the yard waiting for her. Sam had walked home with her, and Sugar ran to meet Evy in the driveway. Once she got to the rest of her family, and everyone had their turns for a hug, Missy took Evy’s hand.

“Come inside. We’ve got a surprise for you. It’s in the kitchen.”

            Evy gasped when she got to the kitchen. The walls were decorated with pink balloons and streamers, both dark pink and light pink, Evy’s favorite color. There were strawberry cupcakes on the table, decorated with red, pink, and white sprinkles. There was a homemade lasagna, barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, peas, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese on the table; all of Evy’s favorite foods. There was a gallon of Missy’s homemade strawberry lemonade. There was even Powerpuff Girls party plates and cups, Evy’s favorite cartoon.

“What’s all this for?” Evy asked. “It’s not my birthday.”

Missy knelt down and explained, “This is a just because party.”

“Just because?” Evy asked.

“Yeah. Just because we love you. And because we’re sorry. None of us have really paid attention to you lately, and we know it’s hurt your feelings. We’re sorry about that, Kitten.” Missy apologized.

“Yeah, little one. I know me and mommy have been arguing a lot. And I know we’ve promised this before, so I won’t promise this time. But we will try to stop fighting in front of you.” John said.

“We do love you, baby girl.” Dean said, echoing everyone else.

Evy’s bottom lip shook. “I thought you guys didn’t care about me anymore.”

“Kitten, nothing could be further from the truth.” Missy assured her.

“Then why won’t you talk to me anymore?” Evy asked. Now that she had her mother’s attention, she intended to let her know everything about how she was feeling. “You took my room apart without asking me, then you put it together here without letting me help. Then you told me I had to walk to school by myself, and you wouldn’t go meet my teacher with me.”

“Kitten, I thought you wanted to walk to school by yourself.” Missy said. “I thought you’d be happy I was giving you some space.”

“Mommy, I was scared. It was my first day in a new school. I needed you.” Evy said, starting to cry again.

“I’m so sorry.” Missy said. “I’m so sorry, Kitten. And I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings about your room. I should have asked you first and let you help. Please forgive me, baby. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad or leave you alone when you were scared.”

“There’s some stuff I want to change in my room. Will you help me?” Evy asked.

“Yes.” Missy said. “What do you want to change?”

“I just want to move some stuff around. But I can’t do it by myself.” Evy said.

“I will help you with it.” Missy said. “And Daddy and Deanie will too.”

“We will?” John asked.

“Yes, you will.” Missy said, throwing him a look that said _I dare you to say otherwise._ “But let’s do your party first.”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.” Evy said. She wrapped her arms around her mom’s neck and squeezed. “Thank you, mommy. I love you.”

“I love you too, Kitten.” Missy said. “Do you want me to go to school with you Monday?”

“There’s a family night tomorrow night. You can meet my teacher and some of my other classmates. Will you go to that?”

“We all will.” John promised.

“Yay!” Evy cheered, grabbing John in a hug too. The smell of the food finally got to her. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

“That sounds like a plan.” John said. “Let’s go.”


	5. Chapter 5

John had never seen Evy so happy, which made what he was about to do so much harder. He knew Missy wouldn’t approve, and he knew there was a better than average chance that she would break up with them once she got back home. But he needed to protect Evy. He felt in his heart it was the right thing to do.

            They had lived in Palo Alto for six months now, and Evy had taken Sam’s advice for making friends at her elementary school. She had two close friends, and the three of them were planning a sleepover that Friday night. John had tried to convince Missy not to allow it, but of course she’d overruled him. John had, suspiciously to Missy, not argued further, but Missy hoped that he would just allow Evy to have her fun and not give her a hard time about it. Missy herself was heading out for the night with a friend for dinner and a movie, and she wouldn’t be back until late that night. It was Friday afternoon, and it was close to the time for Missy to leave.

“Okay, Kitten, one more time. Your homework’s done?”

“Check.” Evy said. “Sammy’s looked it over?” Missy asked.

“Check.”

“You’ve got two changes of clothes in your backpack?”

“Check.” Evy replied eagerly. Missy smiled. “You ready to have fun?”

“I’m ready, Mommy.” Evy answered, grabbing her mom’s waist. “Thank you for letting me go.”

“You’re welcome.” Missy said. “I’m glad you’ve got some good friends.”

“You have fun too, Mommy.”

“Thank you. I will.” Missy said, kissing the top of Evy’s head. “When you come back tomorrow, I’ll tell you about my night if you tell me about yours.”

“Deal.” Evy said. “Bye, mommy. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Missy said. “I gotta go. Be good for Daddy. Mrs. Lindt’ll be here to pick you up in about an hour.”

            John walked back inside just as Missy was saying this. Missy said a quick goodbye to him, quietly reminded him not to give Evy a hard time about the sleepover. Missy left, and John waited until he couldn’t hear her car in the driveway before walking to the couch, where Evy was reading a book with her backpack beside her. John sighed; she was smiling, and he knew he was about to turn that smile into tears. When Evy felt John sit beside her, she asked,

“Daddy, can we make a pie for Deanie’s birthday when I get back tomorrow?”

“Sure, little one. We can make a pie for him tomorrow.” John said, hoping to give her something to look forward to, and hoping to soften the blow he was about to deliver. “But I’m sorry, you’re not going tonight.”

Evy’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “Why? Mommy said I could go…”

“Mommy’s not here.” John said. “I already called your friend’s mother; she’s not picking you up.”

“Daddy, that’s not fair!” Evy protested, starting to sob.

She’d earned this sleepover. Mommy had promised if she kept her grades up, behaved in school, and Mrs. Lindt said it was okay, she could have a sleepover. It was hard for Evy to make friends, and now that she finally had them, she wanted to keep them. But she had no one there to support her. Sam was on a date with the nice girl he’d brought home the week before, Jess. Dean was on a date with some girl he’d met the last time he’d been home. Mommy was already gone, and she had a feeling Daddy wouldn’t let her call Mommy back home. John finally lost his patience with Evy’s crying.

“Evelyn, that’s enough!” He snapped. “I have to talk to you about something important.”

“Daddy, please. I wanna go.” Evy begged again. 

“I said no. Now get yourself under control. Go to the bathroom and wash your face, then come back out here.” When Evy didn’t move and kept crying, John added the threat, “Go. Now. You’ve got five minutes or I’ll give you a reason to cry.”

            Evy jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom, crying inside as silently as she could. She’d set her heart on this weekend, and now it was ruined. Daddy was being mean for no reason at all. She thought about sneaking out of the house and trying to get to Sammy’s, but she remembered John’s threat. She knew that he would spank her if she wasn’t in the living room soon, and he would definitely do it if he caught her trying to run away. John had only spanked her a couple of times, and Missy just once, but Evy had no doubt John would do it again if she didn’t listen to him. Evy felt helpless, and her only comfort was the fact that her mother wasn’t going to be gone overnight. She would be back late that night, and she’d get mad and yell at Daddy for ruining her weekend. Little did she know that her ruined sleepover would soon be the least of her problems. She took a few deep breaths and washed her face.

            John sat in the living room, waiting patiently on Evy to come back. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation he was about to have. He didn’t want to take Evy’s innocence away from her, but she needed to be prepared. She needed to understand why it wasn’t safe for her to sleep somewhere other than her own house. He was willing to let her leave and see her friends, but he was not willing to let her have a sleepover. He had a suspicion that Missy had allowed Sam to have sleepovers without telling him, but there was nothing he could do about that now. The five minutes he had given Evy had already passed, but he decided to be patient with her. Two minutes later, she walked back into the living room from the bathroom, shaking and wiping her eyes. She was trying not to cry, so John’s voice was soft now when he spoke.

“Come here, little one. We need to talk.”

            It was late, way past the time Missy normally went to sleep, but she was happy she’d gone. It had been a long time since she’d gone out and spent time with other adults her own age, and she fully intended to do it again. She hoped Evy was having as good a time as she was having. Missy opened the front door, expecting to find John sitting in the living room, watching TV or sleeping on the couch waiting for her. Instead, she found the front of the house dark. The only light came from the bathroom. She wasn’t too concerned at first; she figured that John had just gone to bed.

Out of habit, Missy headed towards Evy’s room to check on her. She was at Evy’s door before she remembered. _Duh, she’s not here._ Missy started to move away and head to her bed when she heard a noise. It took a second to place it. Sniffling and crying. Missy walked inside and was shocked to find a familiar shaped lump in the bed.

“Kitten?” Missy cautiously asked, flipping on Evy’s bedroom light.

Evy sat up in bed, relieved to finally see her mother. “Mommy!”

“What are you doing here?” Missy asked. “Why are you crying? Are you sick?”

“Mommy…” Evy said, breaking down in inconsolable tears.

“Kitten, what in the world?”

            Missy rushed to Evy’s side, grabbing her in a tight hug that Evy gratefully accepted. She was crying too hard to talk, so Missy waited before asking her again what was wrong. When Evy was finally able to talk, Missy listened with growing anger and resentment. John had done some selfish, stupid, inconsiderate things before, but this was beyond anything she could have possibly imagined. Not only had John told her the truth about what it was he and Dean did when they went on the road, he had told her about Missy’s first husband and daughter, which had been killed by a demon and drove her into hunting. Evy asked her mother, with one last fading bit of hope,

“Mommy, was he telling me the truth? Are monsters real?”

            _Damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU, JOHN WINCHESTER!_ Missy thought to herself. She took a deep breath to keep herself from screaming. Evy still had a tight hold on her waist, waiting on an answer, one that Missy desperately wished she didn’t have to give. But she didn’t want Evy to grow up, find out the truth, and resent her for it. So, screaming inside, Missy brushed some of Evy’s hair from her face and put all the energy she had into speaking as kindly and gently as she could.

“Yes, baby. I’m sorry, but Daddy was telling you the truth.” Evy’s eyes filled with tears again, and Missy shushed her. “Shhhh. Listen to me, Kitten. We will talk about this. You and me, I promise. But not right now. It’s way past your bedtime, and you’re exhausted. Get some sleep and we’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

“Daddy said he was gonna train me so I could fight ‘em too. And he said I couldn’t have friends anymore.” Evy said, her breath hitching in panic. “I don’t wanna fight monsters, mommy, I’m just a kid…”

“You listen to me. Right now. That is not happening. Not now, not ever. You can do whatever you want with your life, but you will never hunt. Do you hear me?” Missy asked. “And as for your friends, Daddy doesn’t make those decisions. Mommy does. And I’ll talk to Mrs. Lindt after everything’s settled down. If she agrees, we’ll do your sleepover again next weekend. Okay?”

“Okay, mommy.” Evy said, wiping her face. “Will you sleep in here with me, please? I don’t want to sleep in your room with Daddy…”

“I will. I’m coming right back. I need to make a couple of phone calls, but I’ll be right back.”

Evy didn’t want Missy to leave, but she nodded.

“I promise baby, I’ll be right back.” Missy said. She gave Evy another kiss, then hugged her tight again. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a long time before you’re alone with Daddy again.”

Evy let out another sob. She hated to admit it, but that was exactly what she’d wanted Missy to say. Missy held her for another couple of minutes, then swore to Evy again she’d be right back. She noticed John sleeping on their bed, and fought the urge to go inside the bedroom and beat him to a bloody pulp. She had the capability to do it, and if Evy hadn’t been awake and able to hear her, she might have done it. But the thought of traumatizing Evy again made her sick, so she walked past the bedroom and into the living room, where she picked up the phone. She called Sam and told him to be at the house at exactly 9 am, called Dean and said the same thing, then, on a whim, called Bobby. She told Bobby what John had done, and she didn’t even have to ask the question.

“I’ll get on the next flight now. I’ll be there quick.”

“Bobby, I’m ready to…” Missy said.

“I know what you’re ready to do. But don’t do it. Yet. Not without backup. Go take care of Baitfish right now. Once we get her out of the house in the morning, then it’s a free for all.”

“Thank you, Bobby.” Missy said.

“Get some sleep. I’ll be there soon as I can. Tell Baitfish I love her.”

“I will. Good night, Bobby.”

            Missy hung up the phone, her rage now down to a dull roar. She knew she’d get no sleep that night. She just hoped that Evy would. No matter what happened from this point forward, Evy’s innocence was gone. Killed by the other person who should never have taken it from her. She made her way back to Evy’s room, who was crying all over again. She told Missy that she’d tried to go to sleep but couldn’t get what John had told her out of her head. Missy laid down on Evy’s bed, pulled Evy close to her chest, and sang to her, the song she’d sung to Evy when she’d been in the womb.

“Don’t you feel it growing, day by day, people getting ready for the news….” Evy eventually fell asleep, and Missy kissed her tenderly. “Don’t worry, Kitten. Mommy’s going to make this right.

 


	6. Chapter 6

The sun came up and crept into Evy’s bedroom. Missy was normally a very early riser, and would have been in the kitchen making breakfast by this time. But she didn’t move. Evy had slept, but no more than twenty minutes at a time. Missy had woken her up three times from nightmares. She wouldn’t talk about them, just begged Missy to hold her and “Don’t let me go, Mommy, please”. Missy swore she wouldn’t, and never would. Evy finally fell into an exhausted sleep around 7:00 that morning. When she’d been sleeping non-stop for an hour, Missy carefully woke up and walked to the kitchen. John was there, sipping coffee, apparently clueless about Missy’s night. Missy said nothing as she went to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup. She checked the clock. 8:06. Sam would be there in fifty-four minutes. She only had to make it through fifty-four minutes, then she could yell, scream, and damn John Winchester to hell as much as she wanted.

“Hey. How was your night?” John asked.

Missy’s rage at him reignited and she slammed the coffeepot towards the sink, shattering it. John jumped. So she knew. He thought that he had heard her talking to Evy the night before, but he’d been half asleep and wasn’t sure. He sighed; he knew he was in for a fight today. He’d have to hold his ground, which was as easy to do with Missy as breathing underwater. _As long as I_ am _breathing when the day’s over_ , John thought to himself.

“She told you?”

“Shut up. Shut the hell up. Do not talk to me right now. Sam will be here in forty-five minutes to pick her up. Bobby will be here right after that. _I_ am going back to _your_ daughter’s bed, where I spent last night holding her while she cried.” Missy said, walking out of the kitchen with the cup in her hand.

As she passed by John, he stood up and grabbed her arm to stop her. “We need to…”

            Missy’s hunter instincts reactivated instantly. Though she was nearly four inches shorter than he was, she kicked John in the groin, twisted his arm, spun him around and slammed his head down on the table, effectively pinning him down. The kick to the groin had taken his breath away, and with the strength Missy was applying to him, struggling against her would possibly have landed him with a broken arm. Missy leaned down next to his ear and spoke in a low, dangerous voice, one John had only heard the night he had helped her kill the demon that had murdered her family.

“It will be a very long time before you can touch me again. And even longer than that before you can touch our kid again. I know you _think_ that you are in charge here, but let me make something clear. What happens from this point forward depends on you doing what I say, when I say, and how I say to do it.” She grabbed his wrist and gave it a good twist, making John clench his teeth in pain. “Got it?”

“Got it. Let me go.” John said.

“I’m going back to Evy’s room. Send Sam in there when he gets there. Send Sam straight in there, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”

            Missy let him go and headed back to Evy’s room. Sam showed up half an hour later, and walked into Evy’s room quietly. Missy told him what had happened. An enraged Sam wanted to confront John himself, but Missy said no.

“Sam, I need you. Is she able to stay in your dorm?”

“Yeah. It shouldn’t be a problem.” Sam said. “My roommate’s out of town, so I’ve got the place to myself for a few days.” “Good. I need her to stay with you at least today and probably tonight.” Missy said.

“What are you gonna do?” Sam asked.

Missy sighed, rubbing between her nose.  “I don’t know, Sam. I just need her out of here. She’s upset enough already. I don’t want her around when I start fighting with your dad. I’m sorry if you had any plans or anything like that, but please, Sam…” “Don’t apologize. You’re right. I’ll take her with me.” Sam said.

“Okay. Give me a second.” Missy gently shook Evy’s shoulder to wake her. “Come on, beautiful. Wake up.”

Evy stirred and whined. Missy felt bad waking her up; she was so tired and clearly still upset. Missy was patient. It wasn’t time for school, and as much as she wanted to put John back in his place, she wanted Evy to leave in as peaceful an environment as possible. She gently shook Evy again, and this time she opened her eyes.

“Mommy?”

“Hey, Kitten. Come on, sit up. I need to talk to you.” Missy said.

Evy sat up, rubbing her eyes that were still heavy with sleep. “What’s going on?”

“Listen. Sam’s here. He’s gonna take you back to his dorm for a while. When I get done here, I’ll come join you guys.” Missy explained.

“Are you talking to Daddy about last night?” Evy asked.

“Yes, I am. And Sam already knows, Kitten.” Missy said. A thought occurred to her that scared her. “Are you mad at me for not telling you earlier?”

Evy shook her head firmly. “No. I don’t want to know now.”

“I don’t want you to know now either, Kitten. Now or ever. And I’m going to take care of your Daddy forcing it on you.” Missy kissed her forehead and turned to Sam. “She’s got a backpack on the couch. It has clothes and everything in it. Just take her and go.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. We will.”

            Sam moved next to Evy, his heart breaking at the fear in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry again. Sam was sick to his stomach at the thought of his precious little sister knowing what the rest of them did about the world. He’d hoped to let her remain optimistic and hopeful. But all he saw in her eyes at that moment was fear and pain.

“Let’s go back to my place, huh?”

“Sammy…”

            Evy broke down again, reaching for Sam’s neck and holding on. Sam picked her up and held her, bouncing her up and down slightly like a baby. She cried into Sam’s shoulder, keeping her eyes shut tight, refusing to look around for fear of seeing her father. Missy felt a little jealous of Sam; she wished she could still pick Evy up and hold her like that, but at least he could. Sam walked to the living room, where Missy picked up Evy’s backpack and put it on Sam’s shoulder, as his arms were still full of a crying Evy. John sat on the couch, watching them closely. His brain was telling him Evy was just being a brat for making her miss her sleepover the night before, but his aching wrist told him not to voice his opinion just yet. He was fairly certain Missy had sprained his wrist but knew if he pushed his luck she could easily turn a sprained wrist into a broken arm or worse. Missy laid a hand on Evy’s back.

“Mommy’ll come get you soon, okay?”

Evy nodded and whispered quietly, “’Kay, mommy. Will you take care of Sugar today, please? I haven’t fed him yet.”

“I’ll take care of him. You go get some sleep. I love you.”  Missy said, putting everything she had into it.

“Love you too, mommy.”

            Evy reached out an arm for a hug from Missy, then left the house still holding on to Sam. Dean and Bobby had shown up while Missy was getting Evy out the door, and both were sitting on the couch. Dean was next to his dad, but Bobby was sitting as far away from him as she could. Missy didn’t bother to ask him how he’d gotten there so fast. As Sam closed the front door behind him, Missy immediately addressed Dean.

“Dean, I don’t care where you go, but go.”

Dean was about to question her, but as soon as the front door closed, the look in Missy’s eye changed from concerned and caring mother to fierce and pissed off protector. Dean knew what his dad had done the night before, and while he didn’t agree with it, he didn’t think that yelling at John for it was the best way to handle it. But Dean knew better than to question her.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dean stood up and clapped his dad on the shoulder. “Good luck, Dad.”

“Dean, get the hell outta here.” Bobby spoke up from the couch.

            Dean left, and Missy stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, fire in her eyes. Even though Bobby was pissed at John too, he was a little worried. He could almost feel the anger coming off Missy in waves. He’d noticed John rubbing his wrist earlier and wondered if Missy had done something to it. Once the Impala was driving away, Missy finally started to confront John.

“Of all the stupid, mean, selfish, inconsiderate things you have ever done, _this_ tops all of it.”

“I thought she needed to know…” John began, and Missy blew up.

“No, she didn’t need to know, you selfish prick!” Missy shouted. “Are you incapable of letting any of your children be children?”

“She needs to be safe.”

“You don’t think she’s safe with me?” Missy asked, furious. “Are you saying I can’t take care of her?” “I didn’t say that. But I told you I didn’t want her going last night…” John explained, trying to keep his voice level to counter Missy’s shouting.

“ _That’s_ what the hell this is about? The damn _sleepover?_ Do you have any idea how many sleepovers I let Sam go to?” Missy said through clenched teeth.

John shook his head; one suspicion confirmed. “If I had I would’ve taken him with me.”

Missy then did something that actually took John by surprise. She started to laugh. Not the small laugh she did when she was tired and needed some rest, but a full-on belly laugh. Even Bobby wasn’t sure what to do with Missy’s reaction.

“What the hell is so funny?” John asked.

“Do you want me to tell you what would have happened if you had taken Sam away from me?” Missy asked. Before John could respond, she told him, “There’s a box in Bobby’s garage. Is it still there, Bobby?” “Yep.” Bobby said.

“Good. Anyway, if you had taken Sam from me, I would have gone to that box, and I would have taken out Sam’s fake birth certificate.” Missy said.

“What are you talking about, ‘Sam’s fake birth certificate’?”

“The one that has him listed as my son with my last name.” Missy said, trying not to laugh when John’s jaw hit the floor. “I would have gotten that birth certificate, and I would have called my contact at the FBI and reported Sam kidnapped. You would have the feds on your ass and you would have gone to jail. I would have had him back inside a week.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” John asked, and for the first time, he wasn’t defiant, he was hurt. “Why would you try to take my son from me?”

“I did it when I was pregnant with Evy. I did it because your ten-year-old son was crying on my shoulder when you yelled at him for being a kid. Do you want to know what he said to me that night?” Missy asked. Without waiting for John to answer, she delivered the blow. “He told me that he sat awake at night sometimes wondering if you would have been happier if he had died in the fire instead of Mary.”

The breath left John’s lungs. “He really thinks that?” “I don’t know if he thinks it anymore. He never told me that again.” Missy said. “Bobby, has he ever said anything to you?”

“That he felt like he wasn’t good enough for this family. That he wished he could trade places with his mom so that he could do something to make you happy.” Bobby said, directing his answer to John.

“Why didn’t either of you tell me about this?” “Why didn’t you see it?” Missy asked. “He was your child for nine damn years before I came into your life. Why are your best friend and your girlfriend having to tell you?”

“I did the best I could…” “Bullshit.” Missy said fearlessly. “You didn’t try at all. But nice job changing the topic. This fight isn’t about Sam. It’s about what you did last night. If you think you were so right, then why did you purposely wait until I was out of the driveway before you did it?” “Because I knew you never would have let me.”

“You’re damn right.” Missy said. “You’re damn right I never would have let you do it. And it’s one thing you told her about the supernatural. That’s bad enough. But you had no right to tell her about Mark and Ruthie.”

John deflated. “You’re right about that.”

“I used to think that the worst thing that had happened to me, other than the two of them dying, was all the tramps that Mark ran around with. But you definitely topped that.” Missy said. Her voice was low now, overflowing with hurt and disappointment rather than the rage and frustration of earlier. “You betrayed me last night in a way I didn’t think was possible.”

“Honey, I…” “If you think that I’m still your honey right now, you got another thing coming.” Missy said. “You’ve got one chance to convince me not to kick your sorry ass out of this house and never let you come back.”

John said nothing, the thought of Sam thinking he should have died when Mary did making him want to take his gun out and shoot himself.

“John?” “There’s nothing to say.” John said. “I’ll be gone in a few minutes.” “The hell you will. You aren’t getting away that easy.”

“I thought you said…” John asked, looking up in surprise.

“I said to tell me why I _shouldn’t_ kick you out. But that’s too easy. You are gonna work on getting your daughter’s trust back. Then, maybe, just maybe, you can start working on mine.” Missy said.

“Tell me what to do.” John said.

“Smartest thing you’ve said all day.” Missy said. “I’m gonna tell you some things right now, and you are gonna listen. If it pisses you off, I don’t give a damn. You need to hear it, and you are going to hear it now. And I am gonna tell you how things will be from now on. Understand?”

John nodded.

“When I was pregnant with Evy, and we talked about how we were going to raise her together, I said to you that I had no problem with you hunting. And I meant it. I understand that you want to find the thing that killed Mary. But I also told you that you would no longer put hunting ahead of what was best for your children. Was that in any way unclear?”

“No.” John said.

“Are you sure? Because you didn’t seem to get it last night.” Missy said. “The first thing you are going to do, if Evy comes home tonight, is apologize. Profusely and sincerely. You will tell her that you’re sorry for scaring her, that you should have waited for Mommy, and that you’re sorry you took her sleepover away from her. You will not try to justify yourself and tell her that you thought you were doing the right thing.”

“Understood.”

“You told her you were going to train her. That is not happening.” Missy said firmly.

“She needs to be trained…” “You have absolutely no credibility to be telling me what she needs right now.” Missy snapped. “You are not training her. She will never hunt. Period. If I decide later in her life that she needs to learn to shoot, it will Bobby or Dean that does it. You are never to so much as _think_ about hunting when she is anywhere close to you.”

John finally stopped trying to object.

“She is not losing her friends. I am talking to the mom from the sleepover she was supposed to go to last night and I am rescheduling it for next week. She is going.” Missy said.

“Fine.”

“Like you’re so fond of telling Sam and Dean, knock off the damn attitude.” Missy said. “You like to claim when one of us disagrees with you that we need to respect you as the father of this family. You need to earn that. It doesn’t come automatically.” At the shocked look on John’s face, Missy laughed again. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever said that to you, isn’t it? Good. Let it sink in. And one more thing. You kept saying that _you_ thought she needs to be trained. _You_ thought it was best for her. Newsflash, John. It is not about you. What you think and what you want for your kids is not the center of the universe here. Stop being selfish.”

“Selfish?” John asked, finally allowing his own anger to come out. “I’ve thought of nothing but my children…” “John, sit your ass down.” Bobby said, finally speaking for the first time. “You’ve thought of how to avenge your children’s mother. But you’ve never once thought of what was best for your kids before you took a hunt.”

“You’re on her side with this? Really?” John asked, shocked to be betrayed by the closest thing to a best friend he’d ever had.

“I’m on your kids’ sides. Which is the side you should have been on. Now sit your ass down and listen to what she tells you.” Bobby said.

“Thanks, Bobby, but I’m almost done.” Missy said, genuinely appreciative of his help. She turned back to John and wrapped up her speech. “I want you to think about something while I’m gone. That little girl adores you. She thinks that you get up thirty minutes earlier than her to bring the sun up for her. You need to seriously think while I’m gone about whether you want to be her father or if you want to be the guy that comes in and out of her life whenever you feel like it.”

            Missy turned, thanked Bobby for coming, and left. She walked the quarter mile to Sam’s campus, her mind spinning. Once she got to Sam’s dorm, she walked up to his room and knocked on the door, absolutely exhausted. Sam answered and ushered her inside.

“Is she still sleeping?” Missy asked.

“Yeah.” Sam said. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Nope.” Missy asked.

“Why don’t I go to the library to study and you two sleep in here?” Sam asked.

Missy looked around and noticed that there were books, papers, and notes scattered everywhere. “Oh, Sam, you’ve got finals starting Monday! I forgot, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine. Don’t be sorry, I’m glad you called me.” Sam said. “Did you talk to Dad?”

Missy laughed bitterly. “Oh, yeah. I talked.”

“And?” Sam asked.

“Sam, I don’t know if I can stay with your father.” Missy said. “I’m seriously thinking about taking Evy and disappearing.”

“Really?” Sam asked.

Missy noticed that Sam looked hurt at that. “Sam…”

“So you’d just leave me?” Sam said.

“Sam, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’m exhausted and I’m pissed and I’m mad and five thousand other things too. I swear I didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t care if you leave Dad. I really don’t. He deserves it after this. But I need you too.” Sam said, and a tear appeared at the corner of his eyes. “Please, mom. Don’t leave me alone.”

Missy walked up to Sam and grabbed him in a tight hug. She only came to Sam’s shoulders, but she held him like she had when he only came up to her shoulders. Sam returned her hug, and Missy swore,

“I’m sorry. I won’t leave you. I promise. I’ll always be here for you.”

Sam nodded and was the first to let go of the hug. “So what are you gonna do?”

Missy ran a hand through her hair and started to answer before being interrupted.

“Mommy?”

Missy turned and flashed a smile at the newly awake Evy. “Hi!”

“Are we gonna have to leave?” Evy asked.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“I heard you tell Sammy you didn’t know if you were gonna stay with Daddy.” Evy explained.

Missy sat at the edge of Sam’s bed next to Evy. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen, baby.”

“Mom? I’ll leave you guys alone to talk.” Sam said, gathering his things into his backpack.

“Thanks, Sam.” Missy said. “For everything.”

“Anytime.” Sam walked to Evy and placed a hand on her cheek, which always calmed her when she was upset. “I know what Daddy told you last night was scary. But everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll be back later.”

“’Kay, Sammy. Love you.”

“I love you too, Cricket. I love you too.” Sam said.

Sam left, and Missy turned back to Evy. “How you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess.” Evy said, though she wouldn’t look at Missy when she said it.

“Really?”

“I’m scared.” Evy finally admitted.

“Scared of what?”

“Why did Daddy have to tell me that?” Evy asked. “I didn’t want to know monsters were real. It’s scary.” “I know it is.” Missy said. “And I didn’t want Daddy to tell you.”

“And I’m scared for Daddy and Deanie. I don’t want anything to happen to either of them.” Evy said.

“Listen to me, Kitten. As unhappy as I am that you daddy told you this last night, he is good at what he does. So is Deanie. I can’t promise nothing will ever happen to them, but they stay as safe as they possibly can.” When Evy still seemed skeptical, Missy asked, “Would it make you feel better if I made one of them call you every night to let you know they were safe?”

“Yes, please.” Evy said.

Missy knew John would hate it, but his needs were way past the bottom of her priority list at the moment. “Done.”

“Mommy? Do you miss your family you had before?”

Missy felt a prick in her heart at the mention of her long dead family, but she answered, “Yes, I do. Every day.”

“I’m sorry you lost them.” Evy said.

“Thanks, baby.” Missy said. “But one good thing came out of losing them.”

“What?” Evy asked.

Missy smiled and brushed Evy’s hair out of her face. “You.”

Evy finally smiled and Missy felt her heart leap. But Evy’s next question made Missy want to cry.

“Daddy said he told me cause I have to grow up and know the real world. But I’m eight. Why can’t he just let me be a little girl?”

Missy grabbed Evy and said, “I don’t know why your Daddy wants you to grow up so fast. But you don’t have to. You be a kid. You have friends, you go to school, you play, you make mistakes. Mommy won’t let Daddy hurt you, and she won’t let him make you grow up before you’re ready. You hear me?” “I hear you, Mommy.” “Just hang on to Mommy, Kitten. Mommy’s got you, and I swear, I’ll never let you go.” Missy said. “I’ll never let you go.”


	7. Chapter 7

Never before had John been so pissed.

            He knew he was a crap father. He didn’t need Missy to tell him that. Even when Mary had been alive, long before he’d gotten into hunting, he knew he seriously lacked in the empathy department. He believed his kids should be taught to respect him. It was his job to keep them safe, and it was the least he felt he deserved.

Except, in his heart of hearts, John knew better. And he always had. And now, someone had decided to call him on it. For years now, it had become easier to stay in a rut of leaving, hunting, coming back for a few days, then leaving again. He cared about his kids, but Bobby was right. The top thing on his mind had always been finding what had killed Mary. John couldn’t quit hunting. It just wasn’t an option. But he knew that Missy was right. If he wanted to stay in Evy’s life, things had to be different. He couldn’t get the look on Evy’s face as he’d told her the truth the night before out of his mind. He’d seen, piece by piece, the innocence leave her as he continued to talk. And, though he didn’t want to admit it, he felt guilty for it.

“Did anything she said get through that thick head of yours?”

John sighed; he’d forgotten that Bobby was even there. “Yes.”

“What?” Bobby asked.

“Bobby…”

“Don’t start with me, either.” Bobby said. “I came here to help Missy and Baitfish. Not you.”

“Well, she’s gone now, they both are, so you can leave.”

“I’ll do that.” Bobby said. “But I’m gonna leave you with something to think about. Your kids, including Dean, trust me and Missy more than they do you. They love you, but they can’t trust you. If you want some help figuring out how to get them to trust you, stop being stubborn and ask for it.”

As Bobby turned to leave, John stopped him. “Bobby, wait.”

“What?”

“Help me.” John said.

“Help you what?”

“Help me get my family back.”

Bobby took a long look at John before speaking, trying to decide if he was being serious or if he was just trying to appease Bobby. John seemed genuine. Bobby had never seen him looking so hurt and confused. He wondered whether or not he’d regret this, but he decided to try.

“It ain’t that hard, idjit. Stop treating your kids like soldiers. Talk to ‘em about what they want to talk about, not about hunting. Don’t assume they know you love ‘em, tell ‘em. Every day, until they get sick of hearing it. Which with you might take a while. Give your kids a hug without them coming to you first. And this one might trip you up, but don’t yell at them for makin’ a mistake. Talk to ‘em, and listen to ‘em. You hear me, _listen_ to ‘em. Any questions?” “I’m assuming since you said them, you’re talking about Sam too?” John asked.

“What the hell do you think?” “Bobby, I can’t just stop hunting.” John said.

“Now’s the time to use those listening muscles I was talking about.” Bobby said. “Nobody here said you had to quit hunting. It’ll be harder, but you can do both. When you are home, put the hunting away and be a dad.”

“What about the sleepover?” John said. “How can we keep her safe where we can’t see her?”

“Do you really think that Missy’s the only one that let Sam do stuff when you weren’t looking?” Bobby said. “You know how many times I let him skip training to go to the park and play soccer?”

“So both of you let Sam go against what I told him to do?” John asked, trying to be furious but not succeeding. “No wonder I had such a hard time with him before Missy…” “You had a hard time with him before Missy because Missy and I listened to him when you didn’t.” Bobby said. “You’ve had your head so far up your ass trying to kill the thing that killed Mary that you haven’t realized you got three of the most amazing kids anyone’s ever had.”

“Of course I know my kids are special…”

“Really? What’s so special about ‘em?” Bobby asked. When John seemed stunned at the question, Bobby laughed. “I finally got you, huh? Let me answer it for you. Dean likes to pretend he’s this big tough bear of a kid. And he’s become one of the bravest men I’ve ever met, but he’s also one of the most selfless. Sam has a brain the size of Texas, and a heart to match. Baitfish has a stubborn streak that could put you to shame, but she wouldn’t hurt a wasp if it stung her.”

John was finally stunned into complete silence.

“And she was right. You are being a selfish prick. Because you had one kid who didn’t have your baggage on her. And rather than letting her be happy, letting her be a damn _kid_ , you’d rather take the slim chance that something _might_ happen and make her miserable than just letting her go to the damn sleepover and have some fun.” Bobby said. “What exactly are you afraid of?”

“Something happening to her…” John answered.

“That’s what could happen. Let me tell you what would have happened if you had left well enough alone. She would have gone to the sleepover, come back grinning and smiling and laughing, and feeling like her daddy loved her and cared about her. How do you think she feels right now?”

That broke John. He realized that Bobby was absolutely right. He had been so worried about keeping his kids safe he’d completely lost sight of how amazing they truly were. How blessed he was and how undeserving he was of them. Dean hero worshipped him, which John knew was the only reason the two of them got along as well as they did. When it came to Sam and Evy, he was lost. The two of them were smart, as Bobby had said, but they also had, as Bobby said, hearts the size of Texas. John was afraid for them. He was afraid they’d get hurt, not just from anything supernatural related, but from the world in general. His worry and fear often came out sounding like anger and impatience, and it was hurting his kids more than anything that went bump in the night ever could.

“What do I do?” John whispered.

Bobby looked out the window and said, “Why don’t you go meet her outside and ask?”

            John looked out the living room window and his heart sank. Missy and Evy were walking back, Evy’s hand in Missy’s. They both looked exhausted, and Evy looked like she had just stopped crying. She was miserable, it was his fault, and worst of all, it was unnecessary. John opened the front door and waited in the doorway. He was shocked when Evy broke away from her mother and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist like she hadn’t seen him in a long time. John bent down and looked her in the eye, and that nearly killed him. Go

ne was the sweet, precious little girl she’d once been, and in her place was a child that was now burdened with all the bad stuff on her father’s shoulders.

“I’m so sorry.” John said sincerely. “I’m sorry I put this on you. I never should have done that. You deserve better than that.”

Evy looked down at the ground, like she was thinking about what to say to him.

“Will you forgive me, little one?” John asked.

He had thought there was no way for his heart to be broken anymore, but he was wrong. Evy looked back up at John, tears in her eyes again, and it seemed forever before she finally spoke.

“Daddy? I know you have to hunt. And I know you want me to. But I just want to be a kid. I’m sorry.”

John swallowed hard. “You have nothing to be sorry for little one. Your mom’s absolutely right. You can do a lot better than this. And I promise I’ll try to be a better Daddy to you than I have been. I can’t be around a lot, but when I am, I promise I’ll try and do better.”

Evy smiled. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“I love you, little one. I love you and your brothers more than anything else in the world.” John pushed some of her long hair out of her face. “I’m sorry I don’t always tell you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” Evy said. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.” “I think what you do is scary, but I think it’s kinda cool too.” Evy said.

A surprised John’s mouth hung open in shock. “You do?”

“Yeah.” Evy said with a smile. “You and Deanie and uncle Bobby are like superheroes. And mommy used to be one too.”

“Your mom still is.” John said, looking up at a still aggravated Missy.

“Daddy, will you go to the park and play with me?” Evy asked. “Unless you’re too busy…”

“No. I’m not busy. Come on, let’s go.”

            Missy gently prodded Evy to go inside and get a thicker coat. The temperature was dropping, and not just in the air. When Evy was inside, the tension between Missy and John was thick enough to be cut with a knife. An awkward few seconds of silence passed, before John asked,

“Please give me another chance. I want to be her father and Sam’s father. And I want to be with you. Forever.” John said.

Missy thought very carefully about John’s admission. She had been with him for years, but she had never heard him be so genuine and open with her. She knew it was hard for him, but he still had a long way to go. It hadn’t been him to sit up with Evy and hold her all night. He hadn’t been the one to have to listen to her crying, to have to hold her and tell her that she was safe and convince her that the monsters wouldn’t get her. As Missy heard Evy inside talking to Bobby, she quickly said to John,

“Take her to the park. Play with her. I’m going to bed. If she comes back tonight happy, we’ll talk.”

“Deal.” John agreed. “I know you might not believe me right now, but I do love you. Both of you.”

Missy nodded. “Prove it.”

“Daddy?” John turned to the door, where Evy had Bobby’s hand in hers. “Can uncle Bobby come with us?”

“Bobby, would you? Please?” Missy asked. She still didn’t completely trust John alone with Evy.

“Sure, little one.” John said. “The more, the merrier.”

“Let’s go, Baitfish. Let’s let your mom get some sleep.”

Evy ran to her mother and hugged her waist again. “Love you, mommy.” “I love you too, baby.” Missy said, mothing a quick _thank you_ to Bobby. “You have some fun today, okay?”

“I will, mommy.”

            Evy broke away from her mom and went and held John’s hand. They walked off a few feet and waited for Bobby at the end of the driveway. An exhausted Missy finally thanked Bobby for his help.

“Thank you, Bobby. I was afraid if I confronted him on my own I’d kill him.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything else stupid.” Bobby said. “Get some sleep. We’ll go somewhere and feed her dinner and bring something back for you.”

“What would we do without you?”

            Missy took Bobby in for a tight hug, then let him go with a laugh when Evy impatiently called him from the end of the driveway. Missy watched them leave, hoping that John’s apology had been sincere and that they were on their way to a healed relationship.

“I love you guys.” She said to no one in particular, then went inside and headed to bed.

**Next Chapter: When Sam and Jess start spending more time together, ten-year-old Evy gets jealous.**


	8. Chapter 8

After telling Evy about the supernatural, life went mostly back to normal for the Winchester family. John and Dean hunted, Sam went to school, Bobby came to visit every few weeks, and Missy and Evy went about their normal lives. Missy and John slept apart for a few weeks, until they came to an informal agreement. It had already been in practice for years, but John finally accepted it. The bulk of decisions regarding Evy were deferred to Missy, including decisions about school, field trips, sleepovers, and, the one John struggled with the most, discipline. Missy agreed to call him and tell him about any major decisions, like health care, discipline problems she needed back up with, and anything about her education. The system seemed to work, and it had been more than eighteen months with very few problems between them.   
All that seemed to be going out the door. Evy’s tenth birthday was around the corner, but her mind wasn’t on birthday presents or parties. Missy watched Evy at the kitchen table, her pencil moving back and forth on the paper, but she wasn’t making any real progress. Missy pulled out the chair next to Evy and gently laid a hand on top of Evy’s.   
“Talk to me. What’s wrong?”   
Evy stopped writing and looked at Missy, frowning. “Sammy said he’d come help me with my book report tonight.”   
“Since when do you need help with a book report?” Missy asked.  
“I don’t.” Evy admitted.   
“So why did you ask him to come help you?”   
“’Cause I haven’t seen him in two weeks!” Evy said. “Every time I ask him to come over or I call him, he’s with Jess.”   
She’s jealous, Missy thought. “Oh, Kitten, I’m sorry. I know you miss Sammy. But you know he still loves you, right?”  
“I know.” Evy said, though she didn’t sound very convincing.   
“Hey.” Missy squeezed Evy’s hand, making her look up at her mom instead of towards the wall. “Have you talked to Sam about this?”   
“No.” Evy admitted. “I can’t get him alone to talk to him, and I don’t want to hurt Jess’s feelings.”   
“You like Jess, don’t you?”   
“Yeah, but I just want a little time with Sammy.” Evy said. “I miss him.”   
Missy sighed. She knew Sam would never hurt Evy on purpose, and she understood it was hard for him to make time for school, time for Jess, and time for Evy too. She decided to try and distract Evy, making a mental note to talk to Sam when and if he came over that night.   
“Did you invite anyone to your birthday party this weekend?”   
Evy frowned and looked away again. “No.”   
“What? Why not?” Missy asked, surprised. Evy had two best friends from her school, and knew she was popular among her classmates. “You do want a birthday party, don’t you?”   
“Yeah, but I see my friends all the time. I want to celebrate my birthday with you and Daddy and Deanie and Sammy.” Evy explained.   
“Oh, Kitten, that’s so sweet.” Missy said. “But I don’t know if your Daddy and Deanie will be back by then. That’s only two days away.”   
“Can we celebrate when they come back if they can’t be here this weekend?” Evy asked. “I really want them to be there.”   
“We can do that.” Missy promised. “Are you almost done with your homework?”   
“Almost. I only have a few more math problems left.” Evy explained.   
“Okay. Finish that up and we’ll watch a movie or something after you get your PJs on.”   
“’Kay. Thanks, mommy.” Evy said.   
“You’re welcome, Kitten.” Missy said, standing up and kissing the top of her head. “Love you.”   
“Love you more, mommy kitty.”   
The phone rang, and Missy got up to answer it with a smile. She made a note to talk to John that night about coming home by Saturday. The phone was in the hallway, just out of Evy’s range of hearing.  
“Hello?”   
“Hi, mom.” Sam said. “Can Cricket talk?”   
“She’s doing her homework right now. Are you coming over or not? I actually need to talk to you about something.” Missy said.  
“Is everything okay?” Sam asked. “Jess and I have an exam tomorrow, so we were gonna study…”   
“Sam, I need you to come over tonight. Just for a few minutes, okay?” Missy repeated. “And make sure you come alone.”   
“Okay, mom. I’ll be there.” Sam said. He recognized the tone in Missy’s voice and knew better than to refuse.   
“Alright. See you soon.”   
Missy hung up and waited somewhat patiently on Sam. Evy was in her shower when he showed up, which Missy was grateful for. She sat down next to Sam on the couch and decided to try the direct approach.   
“Listen. I know you really love Jess. I’m happy for you. I really am. She’s a great girl, she really is.”   
“But…” Sam said, clearly dreading whatever was coming next.   
“But, you need to find a way to spend a little more time with Evy too.”   
“I do spend time with her.” Sam said.   
“Sam, do you realize you haven’t been here in almost two weeks?” Missy asked.   
“What?” Sam asked. “I knew it had been a few days…”   
“She didn’t need help with her book report, Sam. She just wanted to see you.”   
“Oh, man.” Sam said, overcome with guilt.   
“Sam, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m really not. But she’s feeling kind of jealous about Jess. She’s used to having you to herself. Talk to her tonight, okay? Let her know you still love her, no matter how you feel about Jess.” Missy explained.   
The shower stopped and Sam nodded. “I will, mom.”  
A few minutes later, Sam was nearly knocked backward into the couch by a flying Evy, who sailed into his lap at the speed of light. “Sammy!”   
“Hey, Cricket. How are you?”   
“I’m glad you came.” Evy said, still holding onto Sam’s neck.   
“Yeah, about that.” Sam said, pulling Evy away from him a little. “I talked to mom.”   
“Oh. Yeah.” Evy said, nervously taking her fingers and twirling a little of her hair.   
“Cricket, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been spending a lot of time with Jess. I just didn’t realize how much until now.” Sam said.   
“I know you’re happy with her.” Evy said. “And I like Jess. I just miss you.”   
“Did you really need help with your book report?” Sam asked.  
Evy shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you.”   
“It’s okay.” Sam said. “Have you written your book report?”   
“Yeah. Mommy already looked at it.” Evy said. “I turn it in tomorrow.”   
“What’d you write it on?”   
Evy brought her book report out to Sam. They discussed the book and her report, and Sam stayed until it was time for her to go to bed. He helped her repack her things for school, then tucked her in. Before turning out her light, Sam sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her blankets up to her neck.   
“You warm?” he asked. Evy nodded and yawned. “Good. You feel any better?”   
Yawning again, Evy answered, “Yeah.”   
“Cricket, listen. I want you to think about something. You love me, right?”   
“Of course I do.” Evy said.   
“And you love mom? And dad? And Dean?” Sam asked.  
“Yeah…”   
“Do you love me any less because you love Dean? Or dad any less because you love mom?” Sam asked.  
“No. I love all of you a lot.” Evy said.  
“Just because there’s someone else in my life, Cricket, doesn’t mean I love you any less. It just means I love Jess too. There’s no limit to how much we can love. If someone else comes in our lives, it just means we love them too. Does that make sense?” Sam asked.   
“I think so.” Evy said.   
“Would it help if you, me, and Jess spent some time together?” Sam asked.   
“You think she’d want to?” Evy asked. Jess had eaten dinner at their house a few times, but she’d never spent time with Jess outside of the house. “She seems like she’d be fun.”   
“She is a lot of fun.” Sam said with a grin. “I’ll talk to her about it when I see her tonight. Okay?”   
“Okay, Sammy.” Evy said. “Will you ask her about coming to my birthday party?”   
Sam got an idea. “How about this? Jess and I aren’t planning to do anything Saturday. If Dad and Dean are home, I’ll bring her to the party with me. But if they don’t, I’ll come pick you up and the three of us’ll spend the whole day today together. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it.”   
“You promise?” Evy asked.  
“Promise.”   
“Deal!” Evy said enthusiastically.   
When Evy yawned for the third time in five minutes, Sam turned her lamp off. “Bedtime.” He said. “Good night, Cricket. I love you.”   
“I love you too, Sammy.” Evy said. “Will you sing to me?”   
“Sure. Lay down and close your eyes.” Sam said. Evy turned over, her back to Sam, and Sam lifted her shirt and started to scratch her back. “Don’t you feel it growing, day by day, people getting ready for the news…”   
Five minutes later, Evy was fast asleep, and Sam left her room to go back to his dorm. He said a quick goodnight to Missy and told her his plan for Saturday. Missy thought it was a great idea and encouraged Sam to bring Jess over more often. Thursday and Friday passed, and Evy seemed to be in much better spirits.   
But when Saturday morning came, Missy’s heart dropped. Evy woke up at eight in the morning, ate her breakfast, got dressed, then parked herself on the couch and waited. And waited. And waited some more. She kept walking to the front door, looking out and down the street, but Sam didn’t come. Missy tried three different times to call, but Sam didn’t pick up. She couldn’t walk to Sam’s campus and drag him back like she wanted without Evy knowing what she was doing, so she watched helplessly as Evy got more and more disappointed. When two o’clock came with no word from Sam or John, Missy finally asked,  
“Why don’t you and I just go to a movie or something?”   
“No thanks.” Evy said.  
“What about the new museum in town?” Missy suggested. “I know you wanted to go check it out.”   
Evy shook her head. “No. I don’t want to do anything.”  
Unsure what else to suggest, Missy was about to give up, when she heard a sound that made her heart leap. The sound of the Impala’s engine, pulling into the driveway, followed by John’s truck and Bobby’s car. Evy immediately forgot how depressed she was and jumped up from the couch. She ran outside and jumped into John’s waiting arms, who picked her up and swung her around. Missy had warned him when he called four hours earlier that she was upset, and he had taken her warning seriously. There were balloons in the car, a strawberry birthday cake, and several small gifts that Evy received as if they were pots of gold. After cake, ice cream, and presents, the family was in the living room watching a movie. John sat on one end of the couch, Missy next to him, and Dean on the far end. Evy sat in front of John, on the floor leaning against the back of the couch, as John brushed her hair for her. When the front door opened, Evy’s smile immediately dropped. It was nearly seven pm, ten hours after Sam was supposed to come and pick her up. He looked regretful, and in his hand was another meticulously wrapped gift.   
“Cricket…” Sam started to apologize but was cut off when Evy jumped up and ran out of the room. When they heard her bedroom door shut, Sam turned to his parents. “How upset is she?”   
“Sam, she sat on this couch and waited for you for hours this morning.” Missy said.  
Sam squirmed; he wasn’t used to this much anger from the usually patient Missy.   
“If your dad hadn’t come home, she probably still would be. What were you thinking, Sam?”   
“I’m sorry. I lost track of time…”   
“Doing what?” John asked.   
Sam shifted his feet. He really didn’t want to answer that question.  
“It doesn’t matter what he was doing.” Missy said. She pointed in the direction of Evy’s room. “Go talk to her. Now.”   
“Yes, ma’am.” Sam said.  
He placed the gift on the couch and walked towards Evy’s room. He knocked on the door and waited, but when Evy didn’t answer, he opened the door a few inches to find Evy lying down on her bed, holding her stuffed cat Squish to her chest and scratching the ears of a worried Sugar. Sugar kept licking her hand, but instead of making Evy laugh as it usually did, she continued to cry silently.   
“Can I come in?” Sam asked.  
“No.” Evy said, her voice breaking and making Sam’s heart crack.   
“Please?”   
Evy sniffed and wiped her face. “Fine.”   
Sam walked in and cautiously approached Evy’s bed. “Cricket, I’m sorry.”   
Evy turned and accused Sam. “You forgot about me!”   
“No, Cricket. I could never forget about you.” Sam said. “I just lost track of time today. I swear I meant to be here earlier.”   
“Were you with Jess?”   
“Yes.” Sam admitted.   
“Did she tell you not to come?”   
“No.” Sam said. “In fact, when I realized I had forgotten to come get you this morning, she was ready to kick my butt from here back to South Dakota.”   
“Really?” Evy asked. “You got in trouble with her over me?”   
“Yeah.” Sam said with a smile. “She made me promise to bring you over tomorrow so she could spend time with you.”   
Evy smiled. “I like her.” She said, wiping away a stray tear.   
Sam smiled, but he still felt terrible. “I’m sorry.”   
Evy nodded. “It’s okay.”   
“No, it’s not.” Sam said. “I promised you I’d spend time with you today and I didn’t. But from now on, I’ll come get you on either Friday night or Saturday and spend at least one night a week with you, minimum. Deal?”   
“Deal.” Evy said.   
“You want to open your present?” Sam asked. “It’s from Jess too.”   
“In a minute.” Evy said. She reached an arm around Sam’s neck. “I love you, Sammy.”   
“Love you too, Cricket.” Sam said. “Happy birthday, my big girl. Happy birthday.”


	9. Chapter 9

Warning-this is a spanking chapter. Don’t like, don’t read.   
Evy was in trouble. Big trouble. And she knew it. Never before had her mother used her full name, first, middle, and last, like she had after she’d picked up Evy from school an hour earlier. The ride home had been completely silent, which worried Evy more than if her mother had yelled at her. When Missy had parked the car, she’d taken a deep breath, and that was when Missy had sealed her fate.   
“Evelyn Abigail Winchester, I’m more disappointed in you right now than I’ve ever been before. Get to your room and stay there. Do you understand me?”   
“Yes, mommy.” Evy had said, biting her bottom lip. “Are you gonna call Daddy about this?”   
Evy had prayed the answer was no. Her father was on the way home, and Evy didn’t get to see him much, so she didn’t want the time she did get with him to be taken up by her being in trouble. Normally, Missy would keep it between them, but this was too big. So, unfortunately, Evy wasn’t too surprised when Missy had given her answer.   
“Yes, I’m telling your Daddy. You messed up big time today. There’s no way I’m keeping this from him. Now go to your room.”   
“Yes, ma’am.” Evy said.   
She wanted to apologize again but knew that it wouldn’t do any good. So she’d brought herself into her room and sat on her bed. She tried to do her homework but couldn’t focus. So she put it away and tried to keep herself calm. She did an okay job of it, until a few minutes later, when she heard her father’s truck pull in the driveway. Now, all she could focus on was the sound of her parents arguing. When there was a knock at her door, Evy jumped; she hadn’t heard her mom and dad coming. She squeaked out an answer.   
“Come in.”   
The door opened, and Evy was somewhat relieved to see it wasn’t her parents, but Dean. “Hey, kiddo. Can I come in?”   
“Oh. Hi, Deanie. Sure.”   
Dean stepped in and walked over to Evy’s bed. “Can I sit down?”   
“Yeah.”   
Dean sat, and Evy noticed he didn’t look mad, just surprised. “What happened today, kiddo?”   
Evy’s eyes filled with tears. “It was stupid.”   
“Hey. Look at me.” Evy looked up and Dean wiped her eyes for her. “You are not stupid. I don’t ever want to hear you say that about yourself, okay?”   
Evy nodded. “Okay.”   
“So what happened?”   
Evy took a deep breath and told him the whole story. “I went to the bathroom during class. There was some girls in there smoking. They asked me did I want to do it with them. I said no, and they teased me about it.”   
“So you did it?” Dean guessed.  
“Yeah. The principal was walking by and smelled the smoke from the bathroom. She caught us and called our parents.” Evy said.   
“Ah, kiddo.” Dean said. He wanted to lecture her, but he saw she was beating herself up enough for both of them; he also didn’t envy her the lecture, and likely more, that she would get from Missy and John in a few minutes. “We all make mistakes.”  
“Did you hear mommy and daddy talking? Do you know what they’re planning to do?” Evy asked.   
“Sorry, kiddo.” Dean said sympathetically. “They told me I could only come see you if I kept quiet.”   
Evy nodded. “Okay.”   
“Hey. Just remember, they both love you. Just like me and Sammy.” Dean said, taking her arm and rubbing it lightly.  
Evy nodded again. “Thanks, Deanie.”   
Evy’s bedroom door opened, and the voice Evy had dreaded filled her room. “Dean. Time to go.”   
Dean looked from John back to Evy. “Good luck, kiddo. Love you.”  
“Love you too.”   
Dean stood up, kissed Evy’s cheek, and turned and walked out. Missy and John stepped inside, and Evy tried not to cry. In her father’s face she saw anger. She’d seen it before, but never before had it been directed at her. He’d been annoyed with her many times, but she could usually diffuse his annoyance with a smile or a hug around his neck. John stood next to her bedroom door, towering and intimidating, and folded his arms against his chest. But it was the look on her mother’s face that broke Evy’s heart. There was no anger there, just pure hurt and disappointment. Missy shooed Sugar off the bed, who had been sleeping in Evy’s lap, and shut the bedroom door. She stood next to John and said,  
“Okay. I know you told me what happened at school, but I want you to tell your father.”   
Evy recounted the story almost exactly as she’d told it to Dean.   
“Little one, you know better.” John said sternly. “What are you doing smoking?”   
“I know it wasn’t a smart thing to do, Daddy.”   
“So why did you do it?” John asked impatiently.   
Evy almost said I don’t know but knew that answer wouldn’t fly with either of her parents. “I just wondered what it would be like.”  
“You wondered…” Missy whispered and gripped the door handle behind her.   
Evy, fearful of what her mother’s reaction meant, hugged her knees and said again, “I’m sorry, mommy.”   
Missy realized that she’d scared Evy and took a deep breath. She walked over to Evy’s bed and sat down. “I need to tell you something. What do you know about your grandma Collins?”   
“Your mom?” Evy asked, and Missy nodded. “Not a lot.”   
“Well, she and I were really close. She was my best friend. But she died when I was fifteen.” Missy explained. “She died of lung cancer.”   
“Because she smoked?” Evy asked.  
“Yes.” Missy explained. “She smoked a lot. From the time she was about your age until she died. She was very, very sick for a long time.”   
“I didn’t know that.” Evy said.   
“Now do you understand why I’m so upset with you right now?” Missy asked. “I do not ever want to catch you smoking again, do you hear me?”   
“Yes, mommy. I’m sorry.” Evy said again. She wanted a hug but she had to know first. “How much trouble am I in?”   
Missy sighed. “Your daddy and I can’t come to an agreement on that. So we’re going to let you choose.”   
“What?” Evy asked. Surely she hadn’t heart that right. “You’re letting me choose?”   
“Yes. The one thing you will do, since you’re suspended until the end of the week, is write me an essay about smoking and all the reasons why you shouldn’t do it. You’ll write it, give it to me, and if I’m not happy with it, you rewrite it. Understand?” Missy asked.  
“Yes, mommy.” Evy answered.   
“But what your daddy and I can’t agree on is whether you should be grounded or get a spanking.”   
At the dreaded word spanking, Evy felt a cold hand tighten around her heart.   
“Before you make your choice, let me tell what each choice means exactly. If you’re grounded, you’re grounded for five days, until you go back to school Monday. You’ll be restricted to this room and the bathroom. I’ll bring your meals in here, I’ll eat with you if you want, and I’ll put you to bed. But other than that, you’ll be in this room.”  
“You don’t have to work?” Evy asked.  
“If I’m not here, your daddy, Dean, or Sammy will be.” Missy explained.   
Evy frowned; she had already disappointed Dean, John, and Missy, and she didn’t want to disappoint Sam too.   
“If you choose a spanking, you can come out of your room, watch TV, use the computer, and run Sugar outside. All the other things you’re allowed to do when you’re not in school. Your daddy will give you a spanking over your clothes, with his belt. It will hurt. But you still have to do that essay. If you don’t have it done by Friday night, you’ll be grounded until I get it. Understand?”  
Evy swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am. Can I think about it?”   
Missy looked over to John, who nodded in agreement. “Yes. You’ve got until bedtime. If you haven’t told us your choice by then, we’ll choose for you, and you’ll have to go with whatever we say.”   
“Okay, mommy.” Evy said.  
Missy offered her hand to Evy, who gratefully took it and squeezed. “Whatever you do decide, both of us love you. Do you believe me?”   
“I love you too.” Evy said.   
“Call us when you’re ready.” Missy instructed.   
She stood up, leaned over, kissed Evy’s cheek, and left. Evy took nearly an entire hour to make her choice. She was ten and hadn’t been spanked in almost two years. Missy didn’t believe in it, except for things that she deemed very serious and dangerous. She had never been spanked with the belt. She remembered hearing Dean be spanked with it once, and something that made her big, tough, strong brother cry like that made her terrified. Neither of her parents had ever so much as threatened to spank her with the belt before. But Evy also knew that she didn’t want to be grounded. She got bored easily, and a nearly week-long grounding would drag on and on. She also knew that her slate would be wiped clean today as far as her parents were concerned if she chose the spanking. If she stayed grounded, she wouldn’t get to talk to or interact with either of them, unless they were bringing her a meal. As much as it scared her, Evy called her parents back into her room.  
“Have you made your choice?” Missy asked.  
Evy took a deep breath; her heart was racing inside her chest. “The spanking.”   
Missy and John were, to say the least, surprised. “Are you sure, little one?” John asked.   
“I’m sure, Daddy.” Evy said.   
Missy’s heart dropped. She’d hoped Evy would choose the grounding, even though she hadn’t looked forward to forcing her to stay in her room for days. She saw Evy was shaking and thought about letting her off the hook with nothing but a stern warning. But she knew that John would never go for that, and for once, she agreed with him. Missy nodded, accepting Evy’s decision. As much as she dreaded what was about to happen, she was also insanely proud of Evy for not taking the grounding just to get out of the spanking. Missy grabbed Evy’s hand and asked,   
“Do you want me to stay?”   
Evy wanted to say yes, but after realizing how much she’d hurt her mother earlier, didn’t want to hurt her more by making Missy watch her punishment. “No.”   
“You sure?” Missy asked. “I will.”   
“No.” Evy said shakily, unable to say anything else without starting to cry.   
“Okay. I’ll be in the living room. Come out when you’re ready.”   
Evy nodded, took one more kiss from her mom, and Missy left. She walked to the living room and sat down on the couch, fighting her own tears from coming. She heard John shut Evy’s bedroom door, heard his muffled voice through the thin wall, then heard the sound she’d been dreading. The slapping sound of a belt hitting denim. Though the entire spanking lasted less than two minutes, it felt like hours to Missy. She could hear Evy crying, and it tore at Missy’s heart and soul not to break her bedroom door down and rescue her. By the time she could hear John comforting Evy, Missy was weeping nearly as hard as Evy was. The argument that she and John had earlier seemed foolish now. Missy had wanted to give her the choice between being grounded and giving her a hard spanking with John’s hand, and John had thought it was stupid to give her a choice at all, wanting to give her a few bare bottomed swats with the belt. They’d compromised on the choice that Missy had presented to Evy. But Missy realized, sitting on that couch with her hand in front of her mouth trying to stifle her own crying, that no matter how they punished Evy, it would hurt. She just hadn’t realized how much.   
“Mommy?”   
Missy quickly wiped her face and looked up. Evy was standing in the living room entrance, still crying, with John standing behind her. Missy opened her arms and Evy eagerly raced into them.   
“I’m sorry, mommy.” Evy said again through tears.   
“I know, Kitten. I know.” Missy said. She felt John sit down beside her, and place a hand on Evy’s back. “I love you so much.”   
“I love you too.” Evy said.  
“Sit up a minute.” Missy said gently. Evy leaned back, biting her bottom lip. Missy wiped her face for her and offered her the first genuine smile since she’d been picked up that morning. “The reason that your daddy and I let you choose is because you’ve been so good for so long. You do this again and there will not be a choice. You’ll be spanked and grounded. Understand?”   
Evy nodded sadly. “Yes, ma’am.”   
“You can start on that essay later tonight.” Missy said. “Why don’t you take a nap? We’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.”  
“Are you still disappointed in me?”   
“No.” Missy said without hesitation. “No, Kitten, I’m not. You made a mistake today, but I’m proud of you.”   
“Daddy?”   
“No, little one.” John said, and Evy smiled when she realized all traces of anger were gone from his voice. “I’m proud of you, too.”   
“Will you tuck me in?” Evy asked John, sounding every bit of four years old, rather than eleven.   
“Of course. Come on.”   
Evy walked with John back towards her room. She climbed into her bed and allowed John to pull her blanket up for her. John suddenly kicked himself for not thinking of something earlier. He told Evy he’d be right back, went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. His heart ached as he washed Evy’s face.   
“Feel better?” he asked.  
“Yes, sir. Thank you, Daddy.”   
“You’re welcome, little one.” John said. “You know I love you too, right?”   
“I know.” Evy said. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”   
“Shhh. You’ve been forgiven, little one. You write that essay for your mom, and your punishment’s over. But you need to sleep now. Okay?”   
“Okay.” Evy said with a yawn. “Love you, Daddy.”   
“Good night, my sweet girl.”   
By the time John kissed Evy and walked out of her room, she was already fast asleep. He hated himself. He hadn’t seen her in two weeks, and her crying had killed him inside. He would never admit it, but he had nearly refused to spank her, worried that his sweet little girl would grow to hate him if he hurt her that way. But she didn’t, and she had learned her lesson. Sugar came back into the room and eagerly jumped onto Evy’s bed, having been anxiously whining in the kitchen when he’d heard Evy crying. John watched Sugar lick Evy’s face, and Evy lift the covers to let him sleep with her. John turned and faced Missy, who still sat on the couch with a tear-streaked face.   
“Are you okay?” Missy asked.   
John swallowed. “I hated that. I hate it every time.”   
“I know.” Missy said. She noticed a tear fall down John’s face and grabbed his neck in a hug. “You’re a good Daddy.”   
“Thanks.” John said sincerely. “Thank you for showing me how.”   
“My pleasure.” Missy said. “I need a nap myself. What do you say?”   
“That sounds like a plan.” John said, then got an idea. “You want to let her sleep between us?”   
“Yes!” Missy agreed. “Can you get her without waking her up?”   
“I got her.”   
John gingerly lifted a sleeping Evy out of her bed, being careful to avoid placing unneeded pressure on her still sore bottom. He placed her on her stomach in the middle of their bed, then climbed in and rubbed her back just as Missy was doing.   
“Sleep well, little one.”   
“Sleep well, Kitten. Mommy and daddy love you.” Missy said, and ten minutes later, everyone in the house was in a deep peaceful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Evy climbed in the back of the car, smiling and laughing and in a better mood than she’d been in weeks. Dean kept telling her how proud he was of her and recapping the spelling bee like a sporting event. Evy had been surprised that Dean was so excited about the spelling bee. She knew he hated anything academic. As the car started, Evy hugged Dean around the waist.  
“Thanks for coming, Deanie. I know you don’t like stuff like this.”   
“I’m proud of you, kiddo. You use that big brain of yours to do big things.” Dean said.   
Evy was so happy with the attention from Dean that she didn’t notice how quiet her parents were. Missy and John were both miserable and dreading the conversation they were about to have to have with her. Evy broke their thoughts from the back seat.   
“Mommy, can we stop by Sammy’s and tell him about it?”   
Missy thought about saying yes, but she didn’t want to put off the conversation she had to have with Evy. Sam had planned to come with them but had come down with a bad case of the flu.   
“Not tonight, Kitten. He’s still sick. You can call him tomorrow.”   
“Okay, mommy.” Evy said.   
She wasn’t too disappointed. Sam had been near tears that morning when he’d called to say he couldn’t make it. He’d apologized over and over, but Evy could hear he sounded miserable. She was glad his semester was over so he could focus on getting better. After reassuring him she would call him the next day, she’d gotten Dean to help her study for the county competition that night.  
When the car pulled into the driveway, Dean got out first. Missy handed Evy the keys to the front door. Evy finally noticed that both her parents were quiet, and she got a little scared. She’d just won the county spelling bee, and her parents were saying nothing about it.   
“Mommy, is something wrong?”   
“Why do you ask, Kitten?” Missy said, pasting a fake smile to try and placate Evy for the moment.   
“’Cause you and Daddy are really quiet.”  
“Everything’s fine, Kitten. We just need to talk about something.” Missy said. “You go inside with Dean. Make yourself a bowl of ice cream if you want.”   
“Really?” Evy asked. Missy banned having treats two hours before bedtime, and it was already a half hour past when she was supposed to be in bed. “I don’t have to get ready for bed?”   
“You can stay up as long as you want. Tonight only.” Missy said.   
“Alright!” Evy cheered, jumping out of the car and running inside. “Deanie, guess what!”   
Missy chuckled and watched as Evy opened the door and ran inside. Once the door was shut, all the happiness of just a few seconds earlier vanished from the car. Missy leaned against the back of the car seat and closed her eyes. John was staring out the windshield.  
“Why’d you tell her she could stay up as late as she wanted?”   
“We have to give her something to look forward to.” Missy replied. “Do you think I should have made her go to bed and told her in the morning?”   
John sighed. “No, you’re right. Better to get it over with now.”   
“I feel terrible about this.” Missy said. “Like we’re punishing her for doing something good.”   
“I can’t quit hunting.” John said. “The only other solution is for me to leave and not come back.”   
“I know.” Missy said.   
“I feel bad about it too.” John said. “I’m crazy proud of her for this.”   
“Me too.” Missy said. She finally opened her eyes and turned to him. “She’ll understand, but she’s going to be upset. She’ll probably cry. You can’t get mad at her for that.”   
“I know.” John said. “We’ll make it up to her. School gets out in a few days, and we’ll figure out something to do for her.”   
“Yeah.” Missy said. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”   
With heavy hearts, Missy and John walked inside. Dean and Evy were in the kitchen, sharing a massive bowl of chocolate ice cream, which was covered in sliced bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup. Despite their conversation in the car, Missy felt a smile creep up onto her face. She looked to John, who wasn’t even bothering to hide his amusement.   
“What?” Evy asked. “You said I could stay up as long as I wanted.”   
“I know I did. I just didn’t think you’d take me so seriously.” Missy said, and finally she couldn’t hide her laughing.   
“You want some, mommy?” Evy asked. “Daddy?”   
“No thanks, little one.” John said, taking a chair next to them.   
“I’m full, Kitten, thanks.” Missy said. She let Dean and Evy enjoy their treat a little longer. When it was close to gone, Missy said, “Kitten, your daddy and I have something to talk to you about.”   
“What’s wrong?” Evy asked.   
“Dean, go to bed…” John started to say.  
“No.” Missy interrupted. “Let him stay. He should hear this too.”   
John nodded. “Okay.”   
“What’s the matter?” Evy asked. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?”   
“Nothing’s wrong, Kitten. We just have to tell you something.” Missy said. She decided to just spill the beans. “Daddy and I can’t let you go to the state competition.”   
“What?” Evy asked. “Why not?”   
“Because if you win that too, it’ll draw attention to you, which will draw attention to daddy and Deanie.” Missy explained patiently. “And if you were to go on to the national spelling bee, it would bring them even more attention.”   
“But this isn’t about daddy and Deanie.” Evy protested, looking to Dean for support. “I’m the one who won tonight. I worked hard for this.”   
“I know you did, Kitten, and I’m sorry. I know it isn’t fair. But it’s just too dangerous.” Missy said. Her own eyes were filling with tears that she tried hard to keep inside.   
“Why did you let me compete if you weren’t gonna let me go on?” Evy asked, leaning against Dean for support.   
“Um…”  
Missy had not been prepared for that question, and apparently John hadn’t considered it either. Why had they let her compete if they knew they weren’t going to let her go all the way? Evy’s next accusation made the breath leave Missy’s lungs.  
“You didn’t think I could do it.”   
“What?” Missy asked.  
“You didn’t think I could do it.” Evy repeated. “You let me compete tonight because you thought I’d lose. You didn’t think I was good enough.”   
Missy swallowed. The truth was, she hadn’t thought Evy would win, but she didn’t want to say that. She had thought Evy’s stage fright would get in the way, but Evy had proved her wrong on that. Before she could come up with an explanation, Evy jumped from the chair and ran to her room. Dean, who had suspected this would happen but had hoped their dad would find a way around it, avoided looking at John or Missy. John started to go back to Evy’s room, but Missy stopped him.   
“Leave her alone for a few minutes.” Missy said. “Dean, do you understand why we did that?”   
“Yeah. But I don’t like it.” Dean answered.  
“Neither do we.” Missy explained. “Will you go talk to her please? Get her to understand that we can’t bring state or national attention to her, because that’ll turn attention on you guys? That if there was a way to let her do it that didn’t put you two in danger, we would?”   
“I’ll go.” Dean said.   
“And tell her that it’s not true.” Missy said. “That we did think she would win.”   
“Is that true?”   
Missy’s lack of an answer spoke volumes for Dean. He didn’t say anything else, just went to Evy’s room and tried to talk to her. John and Missy stayed in the kitchen in silence, both hoping Dean could shake Evy out of her misery, but knowing it was a long shot. A long, grueling half hour later, Dean came back and delivered the grim news.   
“She’s asleep. She says she doesn’t want to talk to you guys.”   
“Well, that’s too bad…” John started to say. He understood she was upset, but he wasn’t going to let her be a brat about it.   
“Leave her alone, John.” Missy said. “It’ll burn out.”  
“You’re willing to let her give you the silent treatment?” John asked.  
“No. I’ll tell her tomorrow she has to at least be civil, but I won’t tell her she can’t be angry about it.” Missy said. “If we start telling her how to feel, she’ll fight us even harder.”   
John shook his head but said nothing else. Missy knew he disagreed with her, that they needed to squash Evy’s anger at them since there was nothing else they could do. But Missy firmly believed that if they let her be upset for a few days, the anger would fade, and she’d be back to herself in no time. For once, she was wrong. Evy froze her mother and father out for over a week. She was civil, as Missy required of her, coming to the kitchen for meals, saying good morning and good night, but any other conversation was met with a polite but firm “Please leave me alone”. Where Evy was silent about her missed opportunity, Sam was vocal. He let Missy and John know that it was completely unfair to take this from Evy, that she deserved any attention she got, and that they could find a way to deal with any negative repercussions that might come from letting her compete. John left on a week-long hunt three days after the argument in the kitchen. The night he called and said he was coming back, Evy was on the couch reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Missy took her seat next to Evy.   
“Will you please talk to me?”   
“Please leave me alone.” Evy said. She was hurting, sad, and yes, she was angry.   
Missy sighed. “Fine. You don’t have to talk. But you do have to listen. I know you’re angry, and I know you’re hurt, and I am sorry. But I need to know. Do you understand why we can’t let you compete?”   
Evy nodded, flipping a page in her book.   
“I have to think of your daddy and your brother here. I know it’s hard to understand, but if you got attention outside of this town, it would draw attention to them. And there’s a lot of people and other things that could come after them. So I’m sorry we hurt you. But this time, they come first. Whether you want to or not, you have to accept that.” Missy said.   
“Yes, ma’am.” Evy replied. “Can I get back to my book please?”   
“Sure.” Missy said. “Your daddy will be home soon. He’s bringing uncle Bobby with him.”  
“Okay.”   
A crushed Missy got up and walked to the kitchen. She’d hoped that if Evy knew Bobby was coming, she’d cheer up a bit, but apparently not. She realized now that Evy wasn’t just angry, she was still hurt. She kicked herself again when she realized that she’d never apologized for what Evy had said in the kitchen. Your kid thinks you don’t believe in her, and you’re too concerned about how she’s acting to tell her it’s not true. Just as she was about to beg Evy for forgiveness, she heard the Impala, the truck, and Bobby’s car pull up.   
“Any change?” John asked as Missy came to greet him.   
“Nope.” Missy said. “Still a stone wall.”   
“You want me to talk to her?” Bobby offered. “Soften her up a little?”   
“Would you? Please?” Missy asked.   
“You got it.” Bobby said. “You two get in the kitchen and pretend like you ain’t listening.”   
Missy kissed Bobby’s cheek, relieved to have a way to finally make some headway. She hoped that Bobby would be able to, as he’d said, soften Evy up, and make her more willing to accept the apology from her and John. She desperately missed her little girl and wanted to hold and hug and cuddle her again. Missy and John made their way to the kitchen and sat down at the table, both eagerly waiting on Bobby to start talking to Evy.   
In the living room, Evy greeted Bobby with a hug and a kiss, unknowingly making both her parents jealous. Bobby was surprised too. From the way John had described Evy’s attitude the last few days, he’d expected to find a brick wall there that he’d have to penetrate. Bobby took his seat next to Evy and asked her gently,  
“So what’s going on, Baitfish?”   
“Nothing.” Evy lied, not wanting to talk about it.   
“Really? Cause your mom and dad tell me you’re kinda upset with them.”   
“Yeah.” Evy admitted. “I am.”   
“About the spelling bee?” Bobby asked. “And not competing anymore?”   
“It’s not fair, uncle Bobby!” Evy said.   
“I know it’s not, kid. But there’s something you’re old enough to realize now. Life ain’t fair. We can’t always have what we want.” Bobby said.   
“I know that.” Evy said with a pout.  
“Really? ‘Cause you’re not acting like you do.” Bobby said. Evy pulled away from him and buried herself in the opposite arm of the couch. “Your mama does everything she can for you. She’d die for you. And you hurting her with your little temper tantrum ain’t fair to her either.”   
Evy continued her angry silence.  
“I know you wanted to go. But it’s just too dangerous to draw that kind of attention to your dad and Dean…”   
Evy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s what they told you? That I wasn’t talking to them because I couldn’t go?”   
“Ain’t that why you’re acting like this?”   
“No!” Evy said vehemently. In the kitchen, Missy and John looked at each other, brows joined together in confusion.  
“Then why are you so miserable?” Bobby asked, perplexed. He’d lost his stern tone from moments earlier and was completely lost now.   
“Yes, I was upset I couldn’t go. I get why I can’t. I don’t want anything to happen to daddy or Dean either.” Evy said. “But did they tell you the whole story?”   
“What whole story?” Bobby asked.  
“When I won the county competition, Dean cheered so loud for me I could hear all the way on the other side of the auditorium. But mommy and daddy were just sitting there. When we got in the car that night, they didn’t say anything the whole way home.” Evy said.   
Missy put a hand to her mouth. She was starting to see where this was going.   
“When we got back that night and they told me I couldn’t go, I asked them why they let me compete if they weren’t gonna let me go all the way.” Evy continued, voice shaking.  
“What did they say?” Bobby asked.  
“They didn’t say anything. I asked if it was because they didn’t think I could do it. If they didn’t think I was good enough. They still haven’t answered me.”   
“Of course you’re good enough…” Bobby said.   
“Neither of them think so. They didn’t answer me.”   
“We’re such idiots.” John whispered in the kitchen, and Missy nodded in agreement.   
“I called Sam the next morning and told him I won. He told me how proud of me he was. My class threw me a party on the last day of school. Everybody told me how proud they were of me. Everybody except my own parents.” Evy said, tears streaming out uncontrollably now. “That hurts, uncle Bobby.”   
“Ah, Baitfish…”   
Missy and John were still in the kitchen, stunned at how thoughtless the both of them had been. They were proud of Evy, so proud they couldn’t stand it. But their hearts were crushed. John felt especially guilty, accusing her of just having an attitude and being bratty about the whole thing. He was thankful he hadn’t said it to her face. Both of them got up slowly, walking to the living room to apologize, where they found Evy in Bobby’s arms, shaking and sobbing. Missy bent down next to the two of them and placed a hand on Evy’s arm.   
“Kitten, we’re so sorry. Me and Daddy are so proud of you, and we should have told you.”   
“Yeah, little one. We’re sorry.” John said simply.   
“And Kitten, I need to tell you something. Will you look at me, please?” Missy asked.   
Evy turned her head so she was looking at her mom.   
“You’re right. I didn’t think you could win that spelling bee. And that was wrong of me. But I am so proud of you for proving me wrong. And I promise I’ll never doubt you like that again.” Missy said. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Kitten.”   
“I’m sorry I hurt yours.” Evy said with a sniff. “You too, Daddy.”   
“We forgive you.” Missy said. “You forgive us?”   
Evy nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”   
“And Kitten? Please, if me or Daddy does something like that and hurts your feelings, you can tell us. We didn’t do it on purpose, and if you stay quiet, we can’t fix it or make it up to you. Does that make sense?”   
“Yes, mommy.” Evy said.   
“Can mommy have a hug?”   
Evy climbed off Bobby’s lap and over to her mother, who took her in for a crushing hug. John joined them, and Bobby resisted the urge to call them both ‘danged idjits’. He wasn’t surprised at John’s cluelessness, but he was surprised at Missy’s. She knew better than anyone else how sensitive Evy could be. Was she really surprised that Evy would be upset when they didn’t tell her they were proud of her? Bobby had had a suspicion that something else was going on, something other than Evy just pouting that she couldn’t get what she wanted. That just wasn’t the way Evy was. She was too concerned with how everyone else felt. There wasn’t a selfish bone in that child’s body. If he could see that, why couldn’t her parents?  
“Little one, listen up.” John said. “If you could do anything in the whole world, what would it be?”   
Startled by the question, Evy asked, “What do you mean?”   
“Anything at all. Tell me.” John said.   
Evy thought about it and answered, “I’d want to go to the zoo.”   
Missy started to say something, but John shocked her. “Go get in the truck.”   
Evy’s mouth dropped. “We’re going now?”   
“Yes.” John said. “Go, get in the truck.”   
“Can I call Sammy to go with us?”   
“We’ll go pick him up.” John said. “Jess too if she wants to go.”   
“Thank you, Daddy!” Evy almost shouted, grabbing John’s neck again.   
“You’re welcome, little one. You earned it.” John said. “Go on, get in the truck.”   
As Evy ran out the front door towards the truck, Missy asked, “Are you sure about this?”   
“Yeah.” John said. “Let’s do it.”   
“You just got back from a hunt.” Missy said. “And she’ll wear you out.”   
“I’ll sleep tonight.” John said. “Come on, let’s go.”   
“Alright.” Missy said. “Bobby, you coming?”   
“You bet I am.”   
“Let’s go.” Missy said.   
She closed up the house behind her and climbed into the truck with Evy and John. Evy was practically vibrating with excitement, talking about everything she wanted to see once they got to the zoo. When they reached the zoo, Evy gave her mom one last hug.  
“I really am sorry I hurt your feelings, mommy.”   
“I know, Kitten. Me too. How about we go have fun and we put it behind us?” Missy suggested.   
“Deal. I love you, mommy.” Evy said.  
“Love you too, Kitten.” Missy said. “And I’m so, so proud of you.”   
“I know, mommy. Come on, let’s go.”   
Next Chapter: John makes a drunken mistake that very nearly costs him his entire family.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend of mine pointed out after reading this chapter that it’s unusual for a child that’s twelve, like Evy is in this chapter, to keep calling their mother ‘Mommy’. Well, Evy is based off me, and I’m 28, and I still call my mom ‘Mommy’. When I say ‘Mom’ to her, she knows I’m irritated or annoyed with her. I honestly hadn’t thought about this, but that’s why, and I’m not planning to change it.

Dean pulled the Impala into the driveway of the house, preparing himself for the confrontation between his hungover, passed out father in the passenger seat beside him, and his ever patient stepmother. John was drinking more and more as the days went on lately, and even Dean was finding it hard to defend his father the way he was used to. Dean turned off the Impala and took a deep breath.   
“Dad. Dad, wake up.”   
“What do you want, Dean?” John practically shouted.   
“Dad, we’re home.” Dean said. “Missy and Evy are still here.”   
“Oh.” John said, sitting up. “Come on then, let’s go.”   
“Okay, Dad.”   
Dean followed his dad inside, a pit growing in his stomach. Missy hated it when John came home drunk, and Dean was afraid she’d break up with him if it happened again. When John stepped inside, he went straight to the recliner and laid down, walking right past the kitchen, where Missy was preparing dinner.   
“Hey, guys!” she shouted. “Hang on, I’ll be right there.” She finished what she was working on in the kitchen, then walked in. “Hey, how’d it…?”   
“Hey.” Dean said when Missy noticed that John was wearing sunglasses.   
“Hey, Dean.” Missy said, kissing his cheek. She wasted no time. “Really, John? It’s not even four.”   
“I don’t want to hear it.” John said. “The hunt was bad.”   
“Just please tell me that you didn’t drive home like that.”   
“I drove him.” Dean said. “Bobby’s bringing the truck in a couple days.”   
“Good.” Missy said.   
“I’m gonna go talk to baby girl.” Dean said, eager to get away from the oncoming argument.   
“She’s packing, Dean. Make sure you knock, she might be changing clothes.” Missy said, without breaking eye contact from John.   
“Where’s she going?” John asked irritably. “I just got home.”   
“And if you hadn’t come home drunk, I might consider asking her to stay. But she’s going to a sleepover.” Missy explained.   
“Her and all her damned sleepovers…” John muttered.  
“Do not start with her.” Missy said.   
“You let her do whatever she wants…”   
“Yes, John, I’m a terrible mother. Letting our straight-A, hardly ever gets in trouble, respectful daughter go to a sleepover with her best friend.” Missy snapped.   
“Mommy?” Evy asked cautiously. She had come out of her room into the living room. “I’m packed.”  
“Okay, sweetie.” Missy said with a fake smile. “Charlie called. Her and her mom’ll be here in a few minutes.”   
“’Kay.” Evy walked over to her father. “Hi, Daddy.”   
“You don’t have to pretend to be glad to see me.” John said. “Go be with your friends if they’re so much more important to you.”   
Evy stopped in her tracks, tears forming in her eyes. “Daddy, I am glad to see you.”  
“Then stay home tonight.”   
“No.” Missy said. “No, she’s not doing that. She can come back home in the morning.”   
“Mommy…” a confused Evy said, turning to her mother. “Did I do something wrong?”   
“No, Kitten. You didn’t. Don’t worry about it.” Missy said, inviting Evy over to her for a hug. “Go on back to your room. I’ll come get you when Charlie and Mrs. Jackson get here.”   
“’Kay.”   
Evy took a sad look back at her father, then walked back towards her room. At the last second, she changed her mind and went to Dean’s door. The door was opened, so she peeked her head in and saw Dean sitting on his bed.   
“Deanie? Can I come in?”   
“Sure, kiddo.” Evy walked inside and climbed up on Dean’s bed and snuggled beside him. “Whoa, what’s this for?”   
“I missed you.” Evy said sincerely.   
“I missed you too, kiddo.” Dean said, worried when he heard her voice breaking. “What’s going on with you?”   
“Does Daddy not like me anymore?”   
“What?” Dean asked. “Where’s this come from?”   
“He’s so mean to me lately.” Evy explained. “He didn’t even give me a hug when he got home.”   
“Listen, kiddo. Dad’s just having a tough time lately and he’s not dealing with it well.” Dean explained. “He still loves you.”   
“Are you upset I’m not gonna be home tonight?” Evy asked. “I’ll stay if you want me to.”   
“Oh, kiddo. That’s sweet, but I’ll probably be asleep. You go have fun with your friends. We’ll do something together tomorrow night.” Dean promised.  
“’Kay, Deanie. Can I stay in here with you ‘till they get here?”   
“Sure can, kiddo.” Dean said. He suddenly grinned and held his hand in the air. “You know, I’ve got a weird little itch in my hand…”   
Evy curled up to try to avoid Dean’s hand, but it did no good. Dean launched at Evy and started at her neck, going down to her stomach, then back up her other side again. For a few glorious minutes, her giggling drowned out everything going on in the living room. Dean could hear Missy arguing with John, and did his best to keep Evy distracted so she wouldn’t get upset by it. Just as Evy was beginning to calm down, there was a knock at Dean’s bedroom door.   
“Hey, Kitten. Charlie’s here. You ready to go?”   
“Yeah. I’m ready.” Evy said eagerly. She turned and hugged Dean’s neck. “Bye, Deanie. Good night.”  
“Good night, kiddo. Love you.”   
“Love you too.” Evy said.  
“Have fun tonight.” Dean whispered in her ear. “You deserve it.”   
“I will.” Evy said. “Thanks, Deanie.”   
Evy climbed off the bed and left the house. John had run to his and Missy’s room, so Evy let him sleep. She said goodbye to Missy and Sugar, then climbed in the car with Charlie and her mom. The sleepover turned out to be just what she needed. One of the girls couldn’t come, so it was just Evy and Charlie, but Evy felt more relaxed than in a long while. She forgot all about her father’s attitude change, her mom and dad arguing, and everything else. The next morning, as the girls ate breakfast, the phone rang.   
“Evy, sweetie?” Mrs. Jackson said, walking to the table with the cordless phone. “Your mother’s on the phone.”   
“Hi, mommy.” Evy said.   
“Hey, Kitten. Having fun?” Missy asked.   
“Yeah. Is everything okay?”   
“I got called into work, sweetie. I talked to Mrs. Jackson, and she said you can stay with them until I got off tonight. Do you want to do that?” Missy asked.  
“Is Daddy okay?” Evy asked, not sure what Missy had told Mrs. Jackson about why John couldn’t stay with her.  
“He’s sleeping, Kitten. He’ll probably sleep for a while. Dean’s on a date and he said he wouldn’t be back until tonight. Sam and Jess are studying.” Missy explained. “I don’t mind if you want to come home, but I didn’t know if you wanted to be alone with your daddy after last night.”   
Evy thought about asking to stay, but she wanted to spend some time with John. “I’ll come home, mommy. I’ll see you when you get home tonight.”  
“Okay, Kitten. I should be home around six. Call me or Sam if you need us. Love you.”   
“Love you too, mommy.” Evy said.  
“Kitten? If you need me tonight, call me. Okay?”   
Evy agreed. She knew why her mother was worried. John had never been big on unsolicited displays of emotion but would always gladly return any hugs or kisses Evy gave him, and would do things she asked like tuck her in, brush her hair, or stay with her at night until she fell asleep. Her father was, as her mother put it, a little ‘rough around the edges’, but she had no doubt before that he loved her as much as she loved him. Now, all he seemed to care about was hunting whatever had killed his first wife, Sam and Dean’s mother, even if it was at the expense of his relationship with Evy. Evy hung up the phone and went to get her things together. An hour later, she was pulling back up to her house.   
“Evy?” A nervous Mrs. Jackson asked as she got out of the car. “Are you going to be alright, sweetie? Are you sure you don’t want to come back home with me?”   
“I’ll be okay.” Evy assured her. “Thank you for letting me stay last night.”   
“Anytime, sweetheart. Call me if you change your mind and want to come back.”   
Mrs. Jackson pulled out of the driveway, and Evy grabbed her bag and went inside. John was still sleeping, like Missy had said, so Evy ran Sugar outside, came in and made herself some lunch, and was in the middle of a TV movie when John suddenly spoke from the hallway.  
“What did you do to your hair?”   
Evy jumped; she hadn’t heard her father get up. “Daddy?”   
“What did you do?” John asked angrily. He walked in and stood behind Evy behind the couch. “Your hair…”   
John’s tone and the fact that he was clearly still drunk, or perhaps drunk again, made Evy afraid. “I did it last night.”   
John was angry. Evy’s beautiful chestnut brown hair was now raven black, with a streak of pink. Evy didn’t understand why he was angry. She had called her mother and asked for permission the night before. Missy had said it was okay, so why was she in trouble? Evy backed away from John, who walked around to the front of the couch and grabbed her shoulder.   
“You are not allowed to do something like that without permission…”   
“I did have permission!” Evy said. “Daddy, let me go, you’re hurting me!”   
“You don’t tell me what to do, little girl!” John growled. “And you didn’t have permission. Not from me, not from your mother, anyone.”  
“Mommy gave me permission.” Evy said. “I called last night and she said it was okay. Daddy, you’re scaring me. Please let me go.”   
John easily flipped the much smaller and weaker Evy around and swatted her butt five hard, stinging times. “Don’t lie to me.”   
“I didn’t.” Evy protested, weeping and still trying to pull away from John.   
Both of them were shaken out of the confrontation at the sound of growling. Sugar, who had been sleeping on the floor in front of the living room window, had woken at the sound of Evy’s distressed crying. When he saw that John had Evy flipped over and was hurting her, the normally sweet, cuddly dog got angry. When John didn’t release Evy right away, Sugar ran and jumped onto the couch between them, barking and attempting to bite John’s hand. Evy scrambled away from John and started to call Sugar off, when John threw the dog off of him and hard towards the floor. Sugar yelped and wasn’t moving.   
“Sugar!” Evy forgot all about John for a few seconds, running towards Sugar to check on him. “Sugar, please wake up.”   
But even the run-in with Sugar had not slowed down John. “Leave that damn dog alone. I’ll deal with him after I’m done dealing with you.”   
“Daddy, please leave Sugar alone.” Evy begged. “He was only trying to help me…”   
“He doesn’t need to defend you against me.” John said. “Get up and get over here.”   
“No.”   
An enraged John repeated his command. “Get over here. Now.”  
“No.” Evy repeated. “I didn’t do anything, and neither did Sugar. I’m calling mommy and telling her you hurt Sugar.”   
“You little brat…”   
Evy’s heart froze and time seemed to stand still. John stood up and his hand flew to his belt. Evy’s bravado faltered. Her pulse quickened and she gripped Sugar’s fur tighter. No one was around and she was more afraid than she’d ever been before. She took in the room around her. It was a slim chance, but just as she figured that she could make a run for the front door and down towards Sam’s dorm, John suddenly said something that scared her even more.   
“No. I’ve got a better idea how to deal with you.” He said, buckling his belt back into place.  
Evy was relieved he was putting his belt away, but she asked in almost a squeak, “What does that mean?”   
John grabbed Evy’s shoulder again and started to drag her towards the bathroom, leaving the still unconscious Sugar on the floor. “You’ll find out. Get your ass in the bathroom.”   
“Daddy…”   
Missy knew something was wrong the second she opened the front door. Sugar didn’t meet her at the door, Evy was nowhere to be seen, and John’s truck was in the driveway, but he wasn’t around either. Missy put the pizza she’d brought home on the kitchen table, put her purse down, and went looking for anyone else. Just as she got to Evy’s room, she heard a sniffing sound. Missy stuck her head inside and almost thought she was just hearing things. But there was movement on Evy’s bed, and Missy realized that Evy was curled up under her blankets, sniffling and probably crying. Immediately her mind was transported to four years earlier, coming home and finding Evy in her bed crying after John had told her about the supernatural.   
“Kitten? Are you alright?”   
Evy sniffed and answered but refused to come out. “Hi, mommy.”  
Missy grabbed the blanket and tried to pull it back. “Come on out. What’s wrong?”   
Evy forcefully grabbed the blanket and pulled it tighter around her. “No!”  
“Why don’t you want to come out?” Missy asked.   
“’Cause you’ll laugh at me.” Evy cried.   
Missy’s stomach tightened in dread. “Kitten, I promise I won’t. I’d never laugh at you. Come on out, please.”   
Evy pulled the blanket back, and Missy’s jaw dropped. The day before, when Evy had left for her sleepover, her hair had been chestnut brown, wavy, and almost completely down her back. Now, it was black, which didn’t surprise Missy. She had told Evy she could dye her hair the night before if she wanted to. What did surprise her was the state of Evy’s hair. It was tangled beyond anything Missy had ever seen. Parts of it were still the length it had been before, but parts of it were halfway up her back, and parts of it were only the length of her shoulders. Evy grabbed Squish beside her and held him tight, while Missy cautiously pushed some of the stray hair out of Evy’s face. When Evy’s flinched at her mother’s touch, Missy asked,  
“What happened to you?”   
Evy started to talk, but all that came out were tears.   
“Shh, okay, Kitten, come here.”   
Evy leaned over and cried into her mother’s shoulder. Missy tried to calm her, all the while frightening thoughts occurring in the back of her mind. Had this happened at the sleepover the night before? She quickly ruled that out. Evy had sounded perfectly happy when Missy called that morning, and Evy wasn’t that good at hiding when things were bothering her. Had she been attacked coming home? She ruled that out too. She knew Mrs. Jackson fairly well, and she never would’ve allowed Evy out of her sight if something had happened to her before getting home. Had she been attacked at home? That couldn’t be possible either. Even drunk, John would have never allowed someone to attack Evy like this. Evy was finally starting to calm down, so Missy tried again.   
“Kitten, please. I need to know. What happened?” Evy was still panicking, drawing in hitching breaths, so Missy went to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. “Here. Drink this.”   
Evy finished the water, which helped her to calm down. “Thanks, mommy.” She said quietly.   
“Kitten, come on. What happened? Just go slow. Take your time.”   
Evy sniffed and took a deep breath. “I got home and Daddy was still asleep. I took Sugar and ran him outside, then I came in and made some lunch and watched a movie. Daddy woke up and he got real mad at me for dyeing my hair.”  
Another frightening thought came to Missy. “Your father did this to you?”   
“Yes.” Evy said. “He told me I couldn’t do something like that without permission. I told him I had it, that you said I could do it.”   
“What happened next?” Missy asked, trying to keep herself calm for Evy’s sake.   
“He told me not to lie to him and I said I wasn’t. He spanked me and started to take his belt off, then he said he had a better idea to deal with me.” Evy said, starting to cry again.   
“He dragged you to the bathroom then?”   
Evy nodded. “Yes.”   
“Okay, baby.” Missy said. “Is there anything else I need to know?”   
“Did you see Sugar when you came in?”   
“No. Why?” Missy asked.  
Evy started crying all over again. “Sugar was sleeping when Daddy started to spank me. He woke up when I was crying and started growling at Daddy. When he wouldn’t let me go, Sugar jumped on him and tried to bite him to make him stop. Daddy knocked him to the floor and wouldn’t let me get him help. Sugar wouldn’t wake up.”   
“He hurt Sugar too?” Missy whispered, unable to believe John had gone that far.   
Evy nodded and begged, “Mommy, where is he? Where’s Sugar?”   
“Come here, baby.” Missy said, gathering Evy into her arms again. “Listen to me, okay? I’m gonna call Dean and get him back here. Dean will go out and look for Sugar. I’ll call Sammy and get him to come pick you up. He’ll take you somewhere and get your hair fixed, okay?”   
“We can’t fix this, mommy!” Evy said. “I liked my hair the way it was!”   
“I know.” Missy said. “I know, baby. But it will grow back, I promise.”  
“Not for a long time.” Evy said.   
“I know.” Missy said. “But you can get it cut however you want. What about the black in your hair? Do you want to make that permanent?”   
“Can I?” Evy asked.   
“If that’s what you want.”   
Evy sniffed. “No. I was just curious about it. Mrs. Jackson said it would wash out in a few days.”   
“Okay, baby.” Missy said. “Mommy’ll take care of this. Daddy won’t ever hurt you again.”   
“Are you going to make Daddy leave?” Evy asked.  
“Do you want him to stay?” Missy asked, amazed.  
Evy sniffed and sat up. “I’m afraid if you make him leave I won’t ever see him again.”   
“You amaze me, you know that?” Missy answered. “If you really want me to let your Daddy stay, I will. If, and only if, he apologizes to you and Sugar’s okay. If he won’t apologize or if Sugar’s hurt bad, your daddy will have to leave and go to uncle Bobby’s. Okay?”   
“Okay.” Evy said.   
“I love you so much, Kitten.”  
“Love you too, mommy.” Evy said. “Do you have to leave to call Deanie and Sammy?”   
“No.” Missy said.   
She sat against the headboard on Evy’s bed, and Evy laid back down with her head in Missy’s lap. Missy used one hand to stroke Evy’s hair, and one hand to text both Sam and Dean Both of you get your asses to the house NOW and come straight to your sister’s room. Twenty minutes later, both of them were there. Missy gave them an abridged version of what had happened, then clearly gave them both their instructions.   
“Dean, get out there and find Sugar. Drive around first. Check the park, then check the neighborhood. If you don’t find him, check the animal hospital and the pound.”   
Evy whimpered at the mention of the pound, and Missy squeezed her hand to reassure her.   
“You got it.” Dean, who usually would go to the ends of the earth to protect his father, was fuming. “Kiddo, I’m sorry I wasn’t home to protect you from this. I’ll bring Sugar home.”   
Evy nodded sadly. “Thank you, Deanie.”   
“Sam, there’s cash in the cookie jar on top of the fridge. Take all of it and take her somewhere to get a haircut. Whatever needs to happen, do it. Just get this fixed somehow.”   
“Jess can cut hair pretty well. Is it okay if she does it?” Sam asked.   
“Can she, mommy?” Evy asked. “I don’t want to go out where people’ll see me like this. It’s embarrassing.”   
“Sure, Kitten.” Missy said. “Sam, if she needs to, can she spend the night?”   
“Yeah.” Sam said. He and Jess had moved in together a few months earlier, and Jess loved having Evy over. “Of course she can stay.”   
“Kitten, go on to Sam’s car.” Missy said. When Evy was out of the room, she told Sam and Dean, “Boys, I don’t know what’s going to happen when I confront your father about this. We may break up. I want you to know, if that happens, both of you always have a home here. No matter what.”  
“Can I stay here with you?” Dean asked. “I have to find out why he did this. I just don’t understand it.”   
Missy felt bad for Dean. She knew it was hard for him, thinking that John was capable of hurting anything that wasn’t clearly evil and hurting others. But she didn’t want to put Dean in that position of having to confront his father. No matter what he had done, Missy knew Dean would always love his father, and she didn’t want to put that in jeopardy by making him choose sides.  
“No, Dean. I need you out looking for Sugar. If you want to say something to your dad when you come back, you can. But I need you, and Evy needs you, to find Sugar. Okay?”   
“Okay.” Dean said. He didn’t agree, but he wanted, no, needed, to do something to soothe the hurt John had put Evy through. “I’ll find him.”   
“Alright, boys. Thank you. Sam, take the money from the jar anyway. After Jess cuts her hair, take her out somewhere fun. Dinner, the movies, shopping, I don’t care. But make a big deal of how good she looks. She’s really embarrassed about her hair right now.”   
“Got it.” Sam said. “Do you want me to call Bobby?”   
“No. I’ll take care of this myself.”   
“Okay.” Sam said. Since Dean was already walking out the door, Sam said quietly, “Get in a shot for me.”   
Missy nodded. “No problem.”   
Sam left, and an angry Missy gathered her thoughts. She didn’t know where this was going to go. She felt partially responsible herself. She knew that John’s drinking had been spiraling out of control lately, but he was also gone more often than he was home. She had honestly believed Evy would be safe at home alone with him for just a few hours. Obviously she was wrong. She got up off the bed and walked into the living room. At some point after she’d gotten home, John had moved from their bedroom to the living room couch. He was passed out again. Missy went to the front door, opened it, and slammed it shut so hard that the cracked glass pane towards the top shattered. John instinctively jumped off the couch and put his hand to his side, reaching for a weapon Missy knew for a fact he kept next to their bed when he was home. Before he could say anything about her slamming the door, Missy said in a low, dangerous voice,  
“Get up, you son of a bitch. Time for us to talk.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Get up, you son of a bitch. Time for us to talk.”   
John was making and flexing a fist, anger coursing through him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”   
Missy was not the least bit intimidated. “What? Did I make you mad? You want to hit me? Do it, John, I dare you.”   
“No.”   
“Why not?” Missy asked. “Come on, I’m right here. Do it.”   
“Why are you trying to provoke me?”   
“What? You don’t want to hit me, someone who can put your ass into the ground with no trouble, but you have no problem hurting your twelve-year-old that’s less than half your size? Explain that to me.” Missy said.  
“I spanked her, I didn’t hurt her.”   
“You humiliated her.” Missy said through clenched teeth. “Her damn hair looks like you went at it with a weed whacker. What the hell were you doing?”   
“Teaching her a lesson. If she would’ve stayed still it wouldn’t have looked as bad.”   
“Christo.” Missy said.   
“I’m not possessed.”   
“Then this is a thousand times worse. Are you listening to yourself? Your daughter, who has been growing her hair since she was four, gets upset and struggles when you drag her to the bathroom to force a haircut on her, so you leave it looking like a rat’s nest. She’s a twelve-year-old girl, John. What is the matter with you?” Missy asked. “It didn’t occur to you when Sugar, who only attacks people that are hurting Evy, jumped on you and tried to bite you that you might be crossing the line?”   
“He can’t jump in when I’m dealing with Evy. He has to learn the difference between her being spanked and her being hurt.” John said indignantly.  
“My God, you’re going for the gold here, aren’t you?” Missy asked. “While we’re on the subject, where is Sugar?”   
“What?” John asked. “I don’t know.”   
“Evy said you threw him off you and he was unconscious. You wouldn’t let her help him or call me or Sam. Where’s the damn dog, John?” Missy asked again.   
“I swear. I don’t know.” John answered, finally showing the first signs of guilt.   
“Dean’s out looking for Sugar now. You better pray that Sugar’s okay. Because if he’s hurt, or, God forbid, he’s dead, I will beat you until you’re flat as a pancake.” Missy said.   
John ran a hand through his hair. He had a vague memory of pushing Sugar away from him, and of Evy begging him to leave Sugar alone, but he didn’t remember Sugar being unconscious. He also remembered cutting Evy’s hair, but had he hurt her more than he realized?  
“I’ll go help Dean…”   
“You’re not going anywhere near Evy or Sugar right now.” Missy said. “And Dean is just as pissed at you as I was, so I wouldn’t cross him either.”   
John faltered when he realized the magnitude of what he’d done. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”   
“You didn’t mean to hurt her?” Missy asked, slowly repeating the phrase in sheer disbelief. “What were you thinking, John? What made you think that what you did was even remotely okay?”   
“I thought she did it without permission…”   
“Newsflash, John. She did have permission. And even if she hadn’t? It’s hair, John! It’s hair! As long as she keeps it clean and brushed, I don’t give a damn what she does with it!” Missy said.   
“I’m her father, I should have some say in how she looks.”   
“What? Why?” Missy asked. “What do you care how she looks?”   
“The pink just looks ridiculous.” John said, trying desperately to cling to some kind of defense for his actions.   
“I can’t…” Missy sputtered, unable to believe the depth of John’s denial. “John, do you remember what you said to me when I was pregnant and told you I was having a girl?”   
“Yeah.”   
“What did you say?” Missy asked.   
“I don’t want to…”   
“I don’t give a damn what you want right now. Answer the question.” Missy said. “What did you say to me when I told you I was having a little girl?”   
“That I was scared.”   
“Scared of what?” Missy asked.  
“That she’d grow up to be scared of me.”   
“Yep. You were worried she’d be scared of you. And I said what?” Missy asked.  
“That you’d help me figure out how to not make her scared of me.”   
“And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I broke that promise, John.” Missy said.   
“What are you talking about?” John asked.   
“I’m sorry I broke that promise. I must have, because your daughter is terrified of you now.”   
“This isn’t on you.” John said. “I’m the one that screwed up.”   
“No. A screw up is when you yell at her for something minor, or you don’t show up for a birthday or when you promised you’d be here. I need to be very clear with you what you did here. You didn’t just punish her unfairly. You assaulted her. You hurt her more than you’ve ever hurt her before, and I don’t know if she’ll ever trust you again. She grew her hair long because it made her feel like she was pretty. Like she was special in a family where she’s the only little girl. You took that from her because you thought that she defied some stupid rule that we didn’t have in the first place.” Missy was no longer shouting; she saw she was getting through to him, but she had to drive it home. “Did you really listen to her?”   
“When?”   
“Before you put the clippers, or the scissors, or whatever you used on her, to her hair, did you listen to her like I taught you?” Missy asked. “Did you calmly ask her why she did what she did?”   
“She told me you said it was okay.” John said.  
“I did. But if you had listened to her, had an ounce of goddamn empathy for your own kid, she would have been able to tell you that the dye, the black and the pink, wasn’t permanent.”   
“What?” John asked.  
“It’s not permanent.” Missy said. “It washes out in under a week. She was curious what her hair would look like if it was a different color. This time next week, it’ll be back to the normal color.”   
“Why didn’t she tell me that?”   
“Because she’s still a little girl, John.” Missy said. “And you are more than twice her size, stronger than her, drunk, screaming at her, and making her feel like shit for being a kid. It’s the equivalent of me, Dean, Sam, and Bobby stripping you naked, tying you to a chair, and beating you up.”   
“I didn’t scream…”   
“You may not feel like you’re screaming, but you might as well be.” Missy explained. “When you make it clear that nothing she can say is going to make a difference, she’s not going to talk. I’ve told you all of this before.”   
“I know.” John said. “I know.”   
“So why are we back here?” Missy asked. A thought occurred to her. “Did you drink again after I went to work?” John nodded, and Missy exploded. “It wasn’t even noon when I left! What the hell did you do, have a bottle under the bed and start drinking the second I walked out?”   
“Yeah.”   
“Oh, my God!” Missy said.   
“I know I shouldn’t.” John said. “But I keep getting closer and closer to this thing.”   
“John, I get it. When I was close to the thing that killed Mark and Ruthie, I couldn’t see straight either. But I told you a long time ago, Evy has nothing to do with it. If you want to keep her in your life, you have to put everything behind you when you come back to this house.” Missy said.   
“I know…”   
“If you know, then get your head out of your ass and change it.” Missy said. “While you still have a chance.”   
“What do you mean by that?”   
“I mean, I was ready to tell you to get your stuff together and get out and not come back. But Evy begged me not to. She was afraid if I told you to leave you’d never come back.” Missy said.  
“She asked you not to kick me out?”   
“Yep. So you’re going to listen to me now, and if you so much as go off this by one step, you’re done. You pack your stuff and go to Bobby’s, Pastor Jim’s, sleep in your truck, I don’t care. But you’ll be done here.” Missy said.  
John nodded. “What do I need to do?”   
“First thing is this. If Sugar is hurt, or worse, you will be the one to tell Evy. I’m done being the only one who sits here and listens to her crying because of you. You will not take another hunt until she forgives you.” Missy started.  
“Done.”   
“Second, you will apologize. The same way you apologized the day you told her about monsters. You’ll tell her you were wrong, that you never should have done it. You won’t make excuses, and if she decides not to forgive you yet, you won’t make her feel guilty for it.” Missy said.  
“Done.”   
“I mean it, John. This is up to her. I’m not going to make her talk to you.” Missy warned.   
“I understand.” John said.   
“You are not allowed a drop of alcohol in this house anymore.” Missy said. “If you have so much as had one beer on a hunt, you go to Bobby’s and stay there until you’re sober. I will call Bobby and tell him about this.”   
Missy’s phone beeped before John could answer, and she quickly checked it. It was a text from Dean. Sugar was alive and seemed to be unhurt. Dean had found him near a tree in the park where Evy normally took him to run. He had been shaking, and was, at first, afraid to come with Dean. But Dean now had him in the Impala and was ready to come home. Missy suddenly got an idea, and told Dean to give her a half hour first. She put her phone away and told John,  
“You got very, very lucky today. Sugar’s fine. It looks like he regained consciousness and ran out the dog door.”   
John breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Don’t get too happy yet. Because I haven’t told you the last condition.” Missy said.   
“What is it?” John asked.  
“You’re going to shave your head. Once a week, every single week, until Evy’s hair is back to the length it was before.” Missy said.   
John’s mouth gaped open. “That could take months!”   
“Exactly. She’s gonna have to live with the consequences of what you did to her for months. It’s only fair you do too.”   
“Just shave it?” John asked, hopeful.   
“Bald.” Missy clarified. “Hair, beard, mustache.”   
“You said it yourself. It’s just hair. It will grow back.”   
“It’s hair on a twelve-year-old little girl in the seventh grade.” Missy said. “She’s in middle school. Kids are cruel. You embarrassed her needlessly, I’m gonna do the same to you. Or you can do what we said. Pack your stuff and go to Bobby’s. What your choice?”   
“Fine.” John said, moving towards the bathroom.   
“Where do you think you’re going?” Missy asked.   
Confused, John turned back around. “To the bathroom…”   
“Nope. Go get your clippers and go to the kitchen. Evy didn’t get to do her own hair, neither do you.” Missy said.   
“Can’t I at least look at what you’re doing?”   
“No.” Missy said. “And John? As far as I go? You just lost the ability to make any choice in her life. School, health decisions, whether or not she can go on sleepovers, all that’s up to me now. You’re gonna have to earn my trust back too.”   
John swallowed. “I understand.”   
“Go on. Get the clippers.”   
Evy walked in the house early the next afternoon, hand clasped tightly in Sam’s. Missy had called before she went to bed the night before. All she would tell Evy was that everything would change and that ‘mommy would make it okay’. When Evy walked in the house, she had barely made it in the door before Sugar knocked her down, jumping into her lap and kissing her hands, neck, face, and any other part of her she could reach.   
“Sugar! You’re okay!” Evy said, hugging him tight around the waist. Sugar whimpered a bit and Evy immediately examined him. “What’s wrong?”   
“Just be careful, Kitten.” Missy said, bending down on her knees to the two of them. “I took him to the vet this morning. Sugar’s okay, he’s just got a little bit of a bruise on his side right here.” Missy pointed to Squish’s left side. “You can hug him, just be super gentle.”   
“Okay, mommy.” Evy said, grabbing Sugar’s neck the second time.  
Missy smiled and took Evy’s chin. “Your haircut is beautiful. So is your new dress.”   
Evy smiled. Her hair was cut to her shoulders and wavier than it had been before. She wore a hairbow in it, something she didn’t normally like to do, as it made her feel ‘like a baby’. She could also tell what Sam, or most likely Jess, had done with her for fun the night before. Evy was wearing a new summer dress. It was perfect for her. It was denim, with a white belt, white buttons, and a white collar. She was also wearing white dress shoes with a buckle. Missy wrapped her in a hug and held her tight, then asked her and Sam to come into the living room. Evy gasped when she saw John’s shaved head and face.  
“Daddy?”   
“We’ll talk about that, Kitten. Come on, sit down.” Missy said.  
Evy took her seat on the couch, next to Sam. Dean sat in the recliner in the middle of the room, and Missy sat on the other side of Evy. Evy leaned against Sam and took his arm, looking cautiously between her mom and dad.  
“What’s going on?” Evy asked.   
“John. You’re up.” Missy said.  
John leaned forward and said, “Little one, I’m so sorry about yesterday. I had no reason to hurt you like I did.”   
“Then why did you?” Evy asked. “I didn’t do anything.”   
“I know.” John said. “There’s no excuse for yesterday, little one.”   
“You hurt me, Daddy.” Evy said tearfully, as Sam rubbed her back and Missy took her hand. “And you hurt Sugar. Sugar was just trying to help me.”   
“I know.” John said.   
“Why don’t you want me anymore?” Evy asked. “Why are you so mean to me all the time now? I don’t get it. What did I do?”  
John’s heart shattered. “Little one, I know I haven’t made you feel like it, but I do love you. I love you even more today than I did when you were born. I’ll do the best I can to convince you of that.”   
As Evy wiped some tears away, she asked, “Why did you shave your head?”   
“I did that.” Missy told her. “And it’s going to keep happening until your hair grows back the way you want it.”   
“Really?” Evy asked. “Daddy, you agreed to that?”   
“Yes.” John said.   
“Kitten, listen. There’s one big change. From now on, it’s not me and your Daddy making decisions and Sam and Dean backing us up. Now it goes me, Sammy, Deanie, uncle Bobby, then your Daddy. You can forgive your dad right now if you want. That’s up to you. But he’s going to have to work to earn back your trust. And until you tell me he has, that’s the way things operate around here. Does that make sense?”   
“Yes, mommy.” Evy said.   
“Little one, I meant it. I am sorry for last night.”   
Evy looked down towards the floor. She wanted to forgive John, but she was scared. She knew better than to think him shaving his head was something he automatically agreed with. She knew Missy had forced him into it, and that Missy had probably told him if he didn’t agree she would throw him out. Evy didn’t want to stay mad at her father. He had hurt her, but she could see he was trying to make it better. She made her decision about what to do. She looked to Dean and Sam, both of whom were glaring angrily at John, and Missy, who squeezed her hand for reassurance. Evy took a deep breath and told him,  
“I love you, daddy. And I do forgive you. But mommy’s right. I can’t trust you. I’m afraid if I were alone with you it’d just happen again. So until you prove to me it won’t happen again, I can’t be alone with you.” She felt bad when she saw John wipe a tear away, but she kept going. “Daddy, I love seeing you when you get back. But you used to grab me and hug me and hold me when you got home. Now you barely look at me. And when you do it’s to make me feel bad for doing stuff with my friends. Just because I have friends doesn’t mean I don’t love you too.” Sugar noticed Evy was crying again and started to growl at John. Evy rubbed his fur gently and commanded, “Sugar, stop. I’m fine.” Sugar stopped growling but kept his eye towards John, ready and willing to leap up and defend her if he needed to. “I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings, but if you keep doing stuff like yesterday, mommy’s gonna make you leave. And I don’t want you to go, daddy. I love you and miss you too much. I know you’re having a hard time lately, but that’s not my fault. Please, I don’t want a whole lot from you, daddy. I just want you to be nicer to me. Can you do that?”   
John Winchester does not cry. Ever. At least, not in front of his children. To him, crying means weakness, and weak people don’t make it in the world. But as he sat on that living room couch, listening to his baby beg him not to leave after hurting her so badly, and pleading with him to just be nice to her, it occurs to him what a royal damn screw up he truly has become, and the tears won’t stop. Even if he were to get up from the couch that very second and kill the thing that had killed Mary, Evy would still be feeling horrible about herself because of him. He realized that if Mary were to come back to life just then, she would want nothing to do with him, and that breaks him. John buried his face in his hands and weeps.   
Which is why he jumped when he felt two hands on the side of his cheeks. He looked up and saw Evy staring at him. The sight of her now short hair made him cry again. He wanted so badly to tell her so many things. I love you. You’re beautiful, inside and out. You and your mother are the best thing to ever happen to me and I couldn’t bear to lose you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’ll change, I swear. But before he could say anything, Evy stunned him when she said,  
“Don’t be sad, daddy. I still love you.”   
John smiled and kissed Evy’s hand gratefully. “I love you too, little one. And I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.”   
“Can I have a hug?”   
For the first time in months, John drew her in for a rib crushing ‘Daddy bear hug’, as Evy had called them when she was much younger. She had always complained when he did that, something along the lines of ‘Daddy, you squishing me!’, but now all she felt suffocated by was the idea that things could go back to the way they’d been before. After several reassurances from Evy that she’d be fine, Sam went back to his apartment. When it got close to Evy’s bedtime, she grabbed John’s hand and asked him to tuck her in, nearly making him weep all over again. Once she was asleep, John came out into the living room, where an exhausted Missy sat with a cup of coffee.   
“Are we over?” he asked, dreading the answer.   
Missy sighed. “We should be. But we’re not. I don’t know why, but I love you too damn much, despite everything you’ve done. Not just over the last twenty-four hours, but the last few months too.”   
“I understand.”   
“Do you? Do you really? Do you understand that if you screw up like this again there will not be another chance? With me or with Evy?” Missy asked.   
“Yes. I do get it, I swear.”   
Missy nodded, drained her coffee, and stood up. “Okay. Since she gave you another chance, I will too. Don’t mess it up.”   
“I won’t.” John swore.   
“Alright. Let me put this in the sink and we’ll go to bed.” A few minutes later, as she turned off the light, Missy said into the darkness, “Good night, John.”   
“Goodnight.” John replied. He leaned over to kiss her, but for the first time in a very long time, Missy turned her back to him. “I’m sorry.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the emotional last few chapters, I decided this story didn’t have enough baby/toddler Evy fluff. So, that’s all this chapter is. As the chapter says, fluffiness abounds!

Six Weeks Old

Evy wailed, and Missy groaned. She had just fallen into a deep sleep when Evy had started up her whining. She hated herself for it, but she closed her eyes and hoped that Evy would go back to sleep, or that Sam would get up and handle it. But when Evy’s wail increased in pitch and intensity, Missy pulled her blanket up and started to go.   
“I’ve got it.”   
In her half awake state, Missy had forgotten John was home. She mumbled a grateful ‘Thanks, babe’ and curled back up into the blankets. Just as she was about to drift back to sleep, she realized that Evy’s crying had completely died down, and she was now doing nothing more than cooing. Missy woke up again when she heard John’s voice on the baby monitor.   
“Hey, little one. Did you miss me, huh?”   
Missy smiled. The gentleness in John’s voice just then was rare, worn thin by a lifetime in the Marines then hunting.  
“Daddy missed you too.” John said. “I thought about you every second of every day I was gone.”  
Evy started to fuss a little.  
“Shhh. Daddy’s right here. I’m not going anywhere right now. Close your eyes, go back to sleep.”  
Missy couldn’t help it now. She had to go watch John in action. When she got to Evy’s room, she found John in the rocking chair that Bobby had given them. Evy was so small that Missy could barely see her curled up in her father’s arms. Missy leaned against the doorframe and watched them.   
“I might not be around a lot, little one.” John said. “But I’ll always love you, no matter how far away I am.”   
Evy cooed again and lifted her tiny hand in the air, which John gently took into his own.   
“I’m right here. I’ll hold your hand ‘till you go to sleep.”   
Five minutes later, John lifted a once again asleep Evy into her crib. Her turned on the mobile above her mattress, something Sam had insisted on getting for her right before she’d been born. Missy realized that was the reason she’d woken up in the first place. As cute as the mobile was, she had grown to hate it, because Evy couldn’t sleep without the stupid little tune it played. John turned around and jumped.   
“How long were you standing there?”   
“Long enough.” Missy said. She walked over and wrapped arms around John’s waist, and they both turned to watch Evy sleep. “Isn’t she beautiful?”   
“She is. Just like her mom.”   
Missy smiled. “You’re lying.”   
“Why don’t I show you how beautiful I think you are?” John asked, kissing her neck.   
Missy laughed. “Nice try, buddy boy. Mama’s too tired for that. You can rub my shoulders ‘till I go back to sleep if you want.”   
“I can do that. Come on, let’s go back to bed.”   
“Hang on. I want to look at her for a minute.” Missy said.   
She stood over Evy’s crib and watched her sleep for a few seconds. She placed two fingers underneath Evy’s nose and felt relieved when she felt a miniscule brush of air. Missy stroked Evy’s cheek, marveling again at the fact that her finger was bigger than Evy’s cheek.   
“Good night, my angel.” 

Eleven Months Old

“And the baby bear said…”   
John stopped reading when he felt little hands going through his beard. When he looked down in his lap, Evy no longer had her eyes on the book, but was intently studying his fully grown in beard. Evy was sick with a cold, so her face was flushed a bit, and her eyes were opening and closing as she fought sleep.   
“What are you doing, little one?” John chuckled.  
“Daddy bear.”   
“What?” John asked.   
Evy looked down to the book and pointed at the ‘papa bear’ character in the book while keeping one hand in John’s beard. “Daddy bear.”   
“Are you calling me a bear?” John asked, tickling her in the side.   
Evy giggled, a sound that John never got tired of hearing. “Daddy bear hug.”   
“You want a hug like the Daddy bear?”   
“Yay!” Evy cheered, thrusting both hands up towards John’s face.   
John laughed and picked up the excited Evy, turned her around and squeezed her as tight as he could without actually suffocating her.   
“Daddy bear.” Evy said again.   
“I love you, baby bear.” 

Two Years Old 

“Mommy!”   
Missy jumped up from the couch and ran to the front door of the house, where Sam was carrying a crying Evy. Missy tried not to become alarmed at the sight of blood on Evy’s face and knees, but it was hard. She opened the front door and Sam placed the still crying Evy on the couch.  
“What happened, Kitten?”   
“I falled.” Evy said.   
“She fell off my shoulders.” Sam said. “I was giving her a piggyback ride and I tripped.”  
“Did you fall?” Missy asked.  
“No.” Sam said. “I caught myself before I fell but I lost my grip on her. I’m sorry, mom.”   
“Okay.” Missy got up to get the first aid kit and saw the grief-stricken look on Sam’s face. “Sam, it’s okay. It was an accident. She’s just got a skinned knee and a scrape on her face. She’ll be fine.”   
“Mommy!”   
“Okay, you’re gonna be fine, Kitten. We’ll make you feel better.” Missy said, trying to soothe Evy. “Sam, will you go get the first aid kit in the kitchen please?”   
“Sure.”   
Sam walked in the kitchen, grabbed the first aid kit, and brought it out to Missy. “Here you go.”   
“Thanks.” Missy said, getting down to work. “Kitten, Sammy’s gonna hold your hand while I patch you up, okay?”   
Evy’s loud crying had subsided down to sniffles. “’Kay, mommy.”   
As Sam took Evy’s hand, he kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, Cricket.”   
“’s okay, Sammy. Is just a owie. I be okay.”   
Sam held Evy in his lap as Missy cleaned, disinfected, and bandaged both scrapes. Just as Missy was finishing up, John stepped out of the shower and into the living room. Missy closed the first aid box and smiled up at Evy.   
“How’s that, Kitten? Feel better?”   
“Not yet.” Evy said, pointing at her knee expectantly.  
“Not yet?” Missy asked, before she realized what Evy was asking for. “You want mommy to kiss it?”   
“Yes, pease.”   
Missy gingerly kissed Evy’s knee and face. “Better?”   
“Amost. Sammy?” Evy asked. “You kiss ‘em too?”   
Sam repeated the process. “How’s that?”   
“Dat better. Fank ‘ou mommy and Sammy.”   
“How about me?” John asked, walking up beside Missy.   
“No, Daddy. Not want kiss from you.”   
“What? Why not?” John asked, slightly hurt.   
Evy held out both arms towards him. “Want daddy bear hug from you.”   
John smiled and scooped up Evy off the couch. She giggled as she felt him pull her up and wrapped her arms around his neck. John squeezed her tight, and for a minute or so, Evy hung on to her daddy and didn’t want to let go. But she eventually got restless.   
“Daddy, you squishing me!”   
“Oh, yeah?” John asked, slacking his grip on her slightly. “How about I squish you into a little itty bitty piece so I can fit you in my pocket?”   
“No, Daddy, don’t do dat!” Evy said, alarmed.   
“Why not?”   
“’Cause I big girl now. Don’t make me wittle again.” Evy begged. “Pease…”   
“I guess.” John said. “Can I have one more hug though?”   
“Not wite now. I gotta go.” Evy said, suddenly bouncing on John’s hip.   
“Go where?”   
“Daddy, I gotta go NOW!” Evy said urgently, pointing down at her pull up diaper.  
“Oh!” John quickly put her down. “Go on, you can hug me when you come back.”   
As Evy ran towards the bathroom, Missy called, “You need help?”   
“No, I do it, mommy!” Evy insisted.  
“Okay.” Missy said skeptically.   
She was surprised when, sixty seconds later, she heard the toilet flush. Evy appeared in the doorway, pull up back up where it was supposed to be.   
“I did it, mommy! I goed!”   
“Really?” Missy said. “Good job, Kitten!”   
“Will’s you hep me was’ my hands? I tan’t weach da sink.”  
“I absolutely will.” Missy said, scooping the proud toddler up in her arms. “I am very, very proud of you. You’re such a big girl.”   
“Good job, Cricket.” Sam said.  
Missy turned to John and explained, “Daddy, that’s the first time she went potty all by herself.”   
“There you go, little one. Guess you are a big girl now.”   
“Yay. I’s wheely big girl now.” Evy said with a grin. 

Three Years

Sam was beyond annoyed. His mom had promised to be home in time to take care of Evy, and his friends would be here any minute. It was the first day of summer break, and Sam wanted to leave the house and go be with kids his own age.   
“Sammy? Will you come pay wif me please?”   
“Not right now, Cricket.” Sam said.   
“Please. Mommy’s not home yet.”   
“Not now.” Sam repeated.   
“Please…”   
“I said not now!” Sam shouted, losing his patience. “Go to your room and play by yourself for once!”   
Sam immediately regretted his words when Evy’s bottom lip started to shake and she looked away from him. “Sowwy, Sammy. I’ll go pay now.”   
“Cricket, wait.” Sam said. “Come here.”   
Evy walked back over to Sam, who picked her up and sat her on his knee on the couch. He pulled her in and gave her a hug, then kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. But I’ve got friends coming over, so I can’t play with you right now. They’ll be here any minute. I’ll play with you after they leave. Okay?”   
“You promise you not mad at me?” Evy asked.  
“I swear. I’m not mad at you. And I’ll play with you as soon as they leave.”  
“’Kay, Sammy. But do I gotta stay in my room?” Evy asked.   
“What do you want to do?” Sam asked.   
“Can I put my colowing stuff on the kitchen table and dwaw?”   
“Sure, Cricket. Go get your coloring book and your drawing book.” Sam said. “I’ll get your crayons out.”   
Ten minutes later, Evy was happily occupied with her art supplies at the table. Sam fixed her a snack and poured her some juice, then reminded her to stay either at the table or in her room. When there was a knock at the door, Sam went and answered it and let in his friends.   
“Hey, guys. Come on in.”   
“Hey Sam.” The oldest boy said.   
“What’s up, bud?” The younger one asked.   
“So what did you guys want to do?” Sam asked. “I can’t really leave ‘till my mom gets home.”   
“Why not?” The older boy asked. He looked in the kitchen and saw Evy sitting there. “Aww, man? You gotta babysit?”   
“Yeah. Should be just for a few minutes, though.” Sam apologized.   
“Whatever.” The older boy said. “Can I use your bathroom?”   
“Sure. It’s right down there.” Sam pointed down the hall. “Jack, you want a soda?”   
“Yeah. Thanks.” Jack walked into the kitchen with Sam and up to the chair next to Evy. “You mind if I sit with you?”   
“Sure.” Evy said. “I’m Evy. What’s your name?”  
“Jared. The other guy with me is Jack. He’s my older brother.”   
“Sammy’s my older brover.” Evy said.   
“I know. Sam’s a pretty cool guy.” Jared said. “What are you working on?”   
“A picture for my mommy when she gets home.” Evy said, flipping her notebook over. “They roses. That’s my mommy’s favorite fowers.”   
“You do a good job for a little kid.” Jared said.   
“Tanks.” Evy said with a grin. She turned serious and said, “But I’s not wittle.”   
“Oh, sorry.” Jared said. “You do a good job.”   
Evy smiled and said. “I wike you. You nice.”   
“I like you too.”   
“Here you go, Jack.” Sam said, handing Jared a soda.   
“Thanks, Sam.”   
“Can I has one too, Sammy?” Evy asked.  
“If you promise you won’t tell mommy, you can share mine.”   
“Deal.” Evy said.   
Evy had gotten a quick sip of the soda when Jack suddenly came back into the kitchen. “So Sam, when you gonna be able to ditch the brat and leave?”   
“Hey, watch it!” Sam said. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”   
Jack threw his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. When can we go?”   
“Whenever my mom gets back.” Sam said. Suddenly he wasn’t so eager to hang out with Jack.   
“Jack, don’t be a jerk!” Jared said.   
“I said I was sorry.” Jack said defensively.   
“Say it to her.” Jared said, pointing to Evy.  
“Sorry, kid.” Jack said. “You mind if I go sit in the living room, Sam?”   
“Yeah.” Sam said.   
Jack left and Jared turned to Evy. “Sorry about him. He’s a jerk.”   
“It’s okay.” Evy said. “You’s nice. You can come back.”  
Jared laughed. “Thanks, Evy. I’m gonna go in the living room, okay? I’ll see you again soon.”   
“Okay. It was nice to meet you.” Evy said.  
“You too.”   
“Sammy, I’s going potty.” Evy said.  
“Okay, Cricket.” Sam said. “Call me if you need help.”   
“’Kay.” Evy ran to the bathroom and used it. As she washed her hands, Evy noticed a smell. When she realized what it was, she left the water running and ran out to the living room. “Sammy! Sammy!”  
“Cricket, what’s wrong?” Sam asked. “Why are you wet? Did you have an accident?”   
“No. Sammy, I smell smoke in da bafroom.”   
“You what?” Sam asked.   
“I smell smoke in the da bafroom.” Evy said.   
“Oh, that’s me, sorry.” Jack said. “That cigarette I smoked must have still been lit. I’ll go put it out.”   
“Cigarette? Are you crazy? You can’t smoke in this house! My mom’ll go ballistic!” Sam said. “Get it out of here!”   
“Geez, fine. Don’t be so uptight!” Jack said.   
“Dude, it’s bad enough you got me in trouble last week. Don’t get Sam in trouble too.” Jared said.   
“Sammy, did I’s do something wrong?” Evy asked. “I don’t want to get you in trouble with mommy.”   
“No, Cricket. You didn’t do anything.” Sam reassured her.   
“Dude, when’s your mom coming home? I don’t want to stay here with the little brat.” Jack said.   
“Quit being mean to mean to me!” Evy said, throwing her hands on hips and shouting. “I’m not wittle and I’m not a bwat.”   
“What are you gonna do?” Jack said, approaching Evy with a hand extended.   
“Touch her and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” Sam said. “Get that cigarette butt out of the trashcan and leave.”   
“Fine.” Jack said. “I didn’t want to stay here with you anyway.”   
As Jack went to the bathroom to pick up that cigarette butt, Jared was shaking his head. “Sam, man, I’m sorry.”  
“It’s not on you.” Sam said. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”   
“I better make sure Jack gets home.” Jared said. “I don’t’ know why he’s acting like such an…” Jared stopped himself when he realized Evy was listening. “…such a jerk lately.”  
“Fank you for ‘ticking up for me.” Evy said.   
“You’re welcome. You know, you’re a pretty tough kid.”   
“Fanks.” Evy said. “You gonna come back, wight?”   
“Sure thing.” Jared said. “Will you make a picture for me next time I come?”   
“Okay! What kind of stuff you wike?” Evy asked.  
“I play baseball. Can you draw me a baseball and bat?”   
“Sure!” Evy said. “Bye, Jawed.”   
“Bye, Evy. See you soon.”   
After Jared and Jack left, Sam turned to Evy and said, “I’m sorry he was mean to you, Cricket.”   
“I’m sowwy you didn’t get to see your fwiends.”   
“It’s okay.” Sam said. “You want to go play now?”   
“Yeah! Let’s go pay!” 

Four Years

“Unca Baby!”   
Bobby sighed. “What, Baitfish?”   
“When mommy and daddy coming back?” Evy asked. “I’m bored.”   
Bobby smiled. “You’re bored or you miss ‘em?”   
“Both.” Evy said.  
“They’ll be back later tonight, Baitfish. Sam’ll be home soon.”   
“’Kay.” Evy said. “Unca Baby, where’d they go?”   
“Where’d who go? Sam or your mom and dad?”   
“Mommy and Daddy.” Evy said. “Sammy’s at school, right?”   
“Right. Your mom and dad just wanted to spend a little time to themselves.”   
“And where’s Deanie?” Evy asked.  
Bobby smirked. “He’s spending time with his own lady friend.”   
“Oh.” Evy said. “Okay.”  
“What’s the matter, Baitfish?” Bobby asked. She was unusually quiet. Normally she would have been talking the head off of Bobby. “You seem sad.”   
“How come nobody wants to spend time wif me?”   
“What makes you say that?” Bobby asked.   
“Sammy’s gone, Deanie’s gone, Mommy and Daddy’s gone, and you’re working.” Evy said.   
“Oh, Baitfish. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to spend time with you, it just means we got grownup stuff to do.” Bobby explained. “That make sense?”   
“Yeah, I guess.” Evy said.   
“Hey, Baitfish, I got an idea.” Bobby said. “You want to go with me to the garage? Learn about cars with me?”   
“Can I?” Evy asked. “That sounds cool!”   
“Sure. Come on.” Bobby said. “You got to follow one rule though, okay? You got to do exactly what I tell you. If you don’t you could get hurt. You promise to do that?”   
“I promise.” Evy said. “Come on, Unca Baby, let’s go!”   
Bobby chuckled. “Yeah, Baitfish, let’s go.” 

Five Years

Evy waited at the front door just like her teacher told her to. Mommy had promised her a big surprise if she made it through her first day of big kid school. She’d told Evy that she had to work after school was over, so to wait until her surprise got there. Evy’s new teacher, Mrs. Golden, came to the door and told Evy she could sit down and color until someone picked her up if she wanted to. Evy was about to say no thanks, when a familiar voice came up to her.   
“Hey, kiddo.”   
Evy turned to the side. “Deanie!”   
Evy leaped into Dean’s arms. Dean introduced himself to Evy’s teacher, who reminded Dean that if he was going to pick up Evy again in the future, her mother had to add his name to the paperwork at the front desk. Dean wanted to argue with her, remind her that Evy had been the one to run to him, but he resisted. Evy talked the whole way from her classroom to the Impala, arm firmly clutched around Dean’s neck the whole time.   
“I’m glad you had fun, kiddo. Come on, let’s buckle up.”   
“Can I sit up front, Deanie? Pleeeeeeasssse?”   
“Your mom wouldn’t like that too much.” Dean reminded her.   
“But mommy’s not here.” Evy reasoned, biting her bottom lip and looking at Dean with the huge puppy eyes she’d inherited from Sam.  
Damn you Sam, teaching her that, Dean thought. “Well, kiddo, if I let you ride up front I can’t take you for ice cream.”   
Evy’s eyes bulged. “ICE CREAM? Really?”   
“Yeah. Ice cream or front seat, kiddo? Can’t get you two treats in one day, don’t want to spoil you.”   
“I want ice cream! Chocolate!” Evy said.   
“Good choice, kiddo. Come on, get in.” Dean opened the front door and threw Evy’s backpack on the seat.  
Evy grabbed Dean’s waist. “Thank you for picking me up, Deanie. Love you.”   
“I love you too, kiddo.” Dean said. “Love you to the moon.”


	14. Chapter 14

The Winchester family was in shambles.   
At least that’s the way it felt to fourteen-year-old Evy. For six weeks after John had forced her haircut and hurt Sugar, Evy had thought he actually was turning around. He stayed home for over a month, which was unheard of. He’d given up two hunts to do that, and Evy foolishly thought that she and Missy finally took priority over hunting. He finally, with Evy and Missy’s blessing, took of on a hunt, promising to call every single day without fail.   
Then everything went to hell.   
John stopped calling. For a few nights, Missy and Evy didn’t think anything about it. Dean called every night, claiming that John was just in the thick of the hunt, and would be home really soon. Then, everything came to a screeching halt. Dean came home, frantic but pretending that he wasn’t, looking for John. After realizing that Dean didn’t know where John was, Missy was angrier than Evy had ever seen her. She ordered Dean back out on the road, trying to find him. Dean tried to find him for weeks, but when he had no luck, he asked Sam for help.   
And things went from bad to worse.   
Sam left with Dean, and after he came back, Jess had died in a housefire. After burying her, Sam left. It had always been hard with Dean and John constantly on the road, but Sam leaving had devastated Evy. He’d always been her confidante, her friend, her place she could turn when for whatever reason she didn’t want to go to her mother. With him gone, Evy believed that all she had was her mother.  
Except she didn’t. Missy was frantic for close to a week, calling John once every two hours like clockwork. After a week, her frantic emotion turned to depression, and that had been exactly where she’d stayed. Missy got into a rut of getting up, going to work, coming home, then lying in bed until she went to sleep. Evy tried for weeks to get her to talk, but Missy just withdrew into herself. Things got even worse after nine months, when Missy lost her job. From that point forward, every time Evy looked, Missy was either asleep or in bed crying.   
Now, Evy was in her own rut. She got up every morning, went to school, then came home. She did her homework, made her own dinner, did any household chores that needed to be done, then said good night to her mother. But rather than going to bed, Evy would spend hours every night working. She would go to bed, on a good night, between one and two in the morning.   
It had been a year and a half since John had left, sixteen months since Jess had died, and fifteen months since Sam and Dean had left to follow him. Evy found it easier to pretend she didn’t care that they were all gone. On the rare occasions Sam or Dean called, she would give them short, clipped answers, then hang up and go to bed. But it was on those nights that she realized she did care, and them being gone hurt. Really hurt. It was those nights that Evy cried herself to sleep, all the while listening to her mother crying in the next room.   
But this day was different. Evy walked in from school, dreading the week she had coming. All of those thoughts were driven from her head when she saw something that almost brought a smile to her face. The Impala and John’s truck were parked in the driveway. By the time Evy got to the house, she remembered the anger, the hurt, and the feelings of abandonment she’d been struggling through all on her own for months, and the smile that she almost let through died on her face. Evy walked into the front door, placed her backpack next to the door, and took off her shoes. When she turned around, the living room was fuller than it had been in months. Missy was out of bed and sitting on the couch, with her arms around John’s waist. Evy was almost thrilled that her mother was finally happy. Almost. Sam was the first to get up, followed closely by Dean.   
“Hey, Cricket.”  
“Hey, kiddo. How’s it going?”   
“Hi, guys.” Evy said flatly.   
John stood and took a look at Evy. For the first time in Evy’s recent memory, Evy saw he was at peace. He killed the demon. Good for him, Evy thought. And for the first time ever, Evy stared John down. He no longer intimidated her as he used to, and she no longer cared about whether or not he wanted to see her. After an awkward few seconds of complete silence, John said,  
“Hi, little one.”   
“Hi, Daddy.” Evy said.   
“It’s good to see you.” John said with a genuine smile.  
Evy scoffed. “I’m sure it is.”   
Taken aback by her tone, John asked, “Look, I know you’re angry with me…”   
“That’s one word for it.” Evy said, touches of anger finally seeping into her voice.  
“Watch your tone with me, little…”   
“No.” Evy said. “No, I’m not gonna watch my tone with you. And I won’t watch it with you or you.” Evy said, pointing to Sam and Dean in turn.  
“Cricket, please just listen to us.” Sam said. “Look, we did it. We killed the demon. It’s over.”   
“Nothing’s over, Sam.” Evy seethed. Sam flinched; Evy only called him Sam when she was irritated with him. “You three can’t just disappear for close to two years, show up when you’re done, and expect everything to be okay.”   
“Kitten, come on. I know you’re upset, but everyone’s home now…” Missy said.   
“Yeah. That’s great for them.” Evy said, snatching up her backpack and angrily throwing it over her shoulders.   
“Evelyn!” John barked, though he noted with distinct displeasure that she didn’t jump. “Stop it with this selfish tantrum right now…”   
Evelyn Winchester was a soft, gentlehearted person. She was slow to anger and quick to forgiveness. She believed everyone deserved a second chance. But she was tired, angry, scared, and hurt. She had been abandoned by her entire family for months, done everything she could to keep the house together, and she was the one getting chewed out. Anger coursed through her like poison, and Evy took her backpack and flung it at the table near her. The lamp on the table shattered, and every person in the room jumped, including John. The family watched her, mouths agape, as Evy spoke in a low, dangerous voice. She was shaking with anger, her breaths coming in pants, hands balled in fists at her side.   
“I’m selfish? I’m the one who’s been here every night listening to my mother crying for you! I’m the one who’s kept the house running and made sure that she ate and halfway took care of herself while you were gone. I’m the one who sat here wondering if you were alive or dead almost every day and night, only to find out three months ago when Sam just happens to mention that he saw you that not only are you alive, but you three were working together. How could you talk to them but not me?” Evy asked, angry tears coursing down her face. “Not a phone call, not a five minute visit, nothing. Do you have any idea how bad that hurt?”  
“I…I’m sorry…I thought it was too dangerous…”   
“You thought it was too dangerous.” Evy said, wiping her face. “So, all times mommy called you, you couldn’t take thirty seconds to tell us that it was too dangerous to talk? Instead it’s okay to leave your wife and your kid alone with no word at all?”   
“I didn’t say it was okay…” John tried.  
“I’m done.” Evy said in a way that ended the discussion on all fronts. “You finally did it. I needed you. And for the millionth time, you weren’t here. Not only were you not here, but neither were any of you.” Evy turned the focus on the rest of her family. “I needed all of you, and you weren’t here. And I’m not just gonna move past it this time.”   
“Kitten, please, I know you’re angry with your father, but this is a good chance for us to start over…”   
“No. It’s not just them. I’m mad at you too.” Evy said.  
“Me? But I was here the whole time, why are you mad at me?” Missy asked.  
“You were in bed the whole time.” Evy spat. “You didn’t even…” Evy stopped, not wanting to relive the bad memory.  
“Didn’t what, Kitten?” Missy asked.   
“Do you know where Sugar is?” Evy asked.  
Missy looked around, and it dawned on her she hadn’t seen Sugar in a long time. “I don’t know. Where is he?”  
“Unbelievable.” Evy said. She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled hard when she felt her heart sting. “Sugar’s been dead for months.”   
“What?” Missy asked. “How could you not tell me Sugar was dead? What happened?”   
“I tried to tell you Sugar was dead. I came into your room crying and begging you to help me bury him. He got hit by a car. You know what you said? Nothing. Because you were asleep, and when I woke you up you told me to leave you alone.” Evy said. “So I did. And I took Sugar in the backyard and I buried him. All by myself. Just like I’ve done for months.”   
Evy picked up her backpack from the floor and turned to face everyone. “I’m going to my room to do my homework. After that, I’m going to sleep. Because I’ve done all the chores in this house every single night, and I’m exhausted. So when you guys are ready to be my family again, let me know.” With that, Evy went to her room, leaving the rest of her family standing there, their hunting victory suddenly seeming empty and shallow.


	15. Chapter 15

The victory of achieving everything they’d worked for since Mary had died seemed shallow now, but John, Sam, and Dean had no idea what to do about it. All of them had tried to apologize, to beg their forgiveness of Evy and for another chance, but she was not to be moved. Even Missy was lost. Evy got up in the morning, went to school, came home, went to her room, and stayed there. John wanted to try and force her out, to make her talk to them, but Missy said no.   
“We earned it this time. We forgot about her. All of us did. Give her a few days and we’ll talk to her again.”   
The second night, Missy appeared at Evy’s bedroom door with a peace offering. Evy sat at her desk, focused intently on her homework. Missy knocked on the door and was taken aback when she noticed just how tired Evy looked. There were bags and dark circles under her eyes. There was no emotion there, and that worried Missy more than the outburst the night before had. Evy said nothing to Missy, just sat there waiting.   
“Can I come in?” Missy asked.  
“Sure.” Evy said quietly.  
“I brought you something.” Missy said, holding out a plate towards Evy. “Remember these?”   
On the plate was a sandwich, cut into four triangles, of peanut butter and bananas. It had been Evy’s favorite in preschool, and Missy hoped bringing it back might thaw the ice around Evy’s attitude. Her heart broke when Evy didn’t even crack a smile at the sight of the sandwich, instead just taking the plate and saying politely enough,  
“Thank you.”   
Missy sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “Kitten, listen. I know me and your dad and your brothers really let you down. I’m sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I let myself get so scared that they weren’t coming home that I forgot that you are my home. I swear to you, it’s going to be different now. Sam called Stanford and he’s going back to school. He got his scholarship back so he’s going to finish his last semester and start law school. He’s moving in with us. Your daddy and Dean are looking for a job nearby, so they’re going to be home a whole lot more. Baby, I’m sorry. If you can’t forgive me right now, that’s okay. But we are going to do better.” When Evy still said nothing, Missy asked, “I meant it when I said you don’t have to forgive me yet. Or your dad. I just need to know that you don’t hate me.”   
“I don’t hate you.” Evy said. “I tried, but I can’t.”   
“What does that mean?”   
Evy had been avoiding eye contact with her mother, but finally she explained, “Every morning for six months after Daddy left, I told myself that it would get better. That you’d stop being so sad and that you’d wake up and be my mom again. And every night I went to bed disappointed. All I wanted was a hug from you that I didn’t have to ask for, or for you to ask me how my day was. Do you even know how long it’s been since you told me you loved me?”   
Missy shook her head, ashamed to realize she didn’t know the answer.  
“Five months and two days.” Evy said. “And before that, it had been six months. The day you lost your job. I know because I recorded it in my diary so I wouldn’t forget.”   
“Kitten…” Missy said, breathless.   
“I don’t hate you. But I can’t forgive you because I gave up trying months ago. I’m afraid if I do forgive you and give you another chance I’ll just get hurt again. And if you or Daddy or Dean or Sam lets me down again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to take it.” Evy said. “So please, please just leave me alone and let me get back to my homework.”   
Missy nodded, tears flowing like a river. “Okay. I’m sorry, Kitten. And I do love you. More than anything else.”   
Evy turned back around and picked up her pencil, not answering her mother. Missy turned and left the room, running back to the sanctity of her own bed. She shut the door and covered her face with her hands, trying to stifle her crying and not succeeding. John came home from job hunting and found her in the bedroom. Missy cried into his shoulder for several minutes, before she finally voiced the terrifying thought that was at the forefront of her mind.   
“I’ve lost her too. I lost Ruthie and now I’ve lost her too.”   
“No. You haven’t lost her. She’ll come back, we’ll just have to show her that we mean it. Okay?” John reassured her. When Missy didn’t respond, John asked, “Do you hear me?”   
“Yeah. I hear you.” Missy said.   
“It’ll be okay.” John said. “I swear to you. It’ll be okay.”   
Two more days passed the same way. Sam, Dean, and John all tried to talk to her, but she shut them out the same way she had Missy. Just as Missy was about to give up on reaching Evy, a call from Evy’s principal complicated things even further. Missy parked the car and walked inside, unaware of what she was about to walk into.   
“I’m glad you’re here, Ms. Collins.” The principal, Mrs. Goodson, said. “I have to say I’m extremely shocked by this.”   
“By what?” Missy asked. “What in the world is going on?”   
“Evy?” Mrs. Goodson asked, turning to a silent Evy in the seat next to Missy. “Would you like to tell your mother? Or do I need to?”   
Evy said nothing, so Missy asked, “What in the world is going on?”   
“Ms. Collins, a student in the school was caught cheating earlier this week. He informed us that Evy has been doing his homework for him for the last few months.”   
“WHAT?” Missy asked. “There’s no way that’s true. My daughter is not a cheater.”   
“It’s true.”   
Missy’s mouth dropped open at Evy’s admission. “What do you mean it’s true?”   
Evy shrugged and said it again. “It’s true.”   
“What…?” Missy was blown away. “Why would you do this?”   
“For money.” Mrs. Goodson said. “The student caught cheating alleges that he’s been paying Evy fifty dollars a week to do his homework for him. And he also informed us that he was not Evy’s only client.”   
“Is this true?” Missy asked. “All of it?” Evy nodded, and Missy asked again, “Why?”   
“Ms. Collins, I’ve been asking her that question since I brought her in here. She’s refusing to talk.”   
“So, let me get this straight.” Missy said, her shock turning to anger. “You’ve been doing other students’ homework for them for money. For months.”   
“Yep.” Evy said.  
“Ms. Collins, I’m afraid I have more bad news.” Mrs. Goodson said. “Given the extent of this, under normal circumstances, I would have to expel Evy. I’ve talked to the superintendent, and given Evy’s excellent academic and behavioral record up to this point, she’s suspended for the rest of the school year.”   
“It’s February!” Missy said. “She’s suspended for three months?”   
“Yes. This isn’t a simple case of Evy allowing another student to cheat off of her. If that was the case, she would simply have detention for a week and would fail whatever assignment she’d been working on. But with the sheer scope of this, she just has to go for a while.” Mrs. Goodson explained. “She’ll be allowed to finish her school year in summer school.”   
“I understand.” Missy said. “Is there anything else I need to know?”   
“Yes. Evy’s already fulfilled one requirement of her punishment. She’s given me a list of the names of students she’s been cheating for. I can’t give you their names, but I can tell you there were six on the list.”   
“Okay.” Missy said. “May I take her home now?”   
“Yes.” Mrs. Goodson said. She turned to Evy and said, “Sweetheart, I’m shocked here. Is there any reason you can give me why you’ve been doing this? You’re one of my best students. And I just don’t understand it.”   
“I’d rather not say, ma’am.” Evy said quietly.   
“I want you to come back in summer school. If you do well there, and complete all your work, you can start over in September. Start fresh. Okay?” Mrs. Goodson said.   
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”   
“You can go now. Ms. Collins, I hope you have a better day.” Mrs. Goodson said.  
“Thank you. Evelyn, let’s go.” Missy said, standing up and fuming. Evy followed her quietly outside. Once they were in the car, Missy asked, “What the hell is going on?”   
“You heard her.” Evy said. “I’ve been cheating for money.”  
“Yes, I did hear that. What I want to know is why? How could you do something so stupid?”   
Evy flinched at the ‘stupid’ comment, but didn’t say a word.   
“No. No more of the silent treatment. I know me and your father haven’t been there for you, but you can bet that’s about to change. Buckle up. When we get home, you go straight to your room and you do not come out until I tell you to. Do you understand?” Missy said, voice steadily rising until she was just barely restraining herself from shouting.  
“Yes, ma’am.”   
The ride home was a silent one, but without being reminded, Evy walked inside and straight to her bedroom. She heard her parents talking after John came home forty-five minutes later. There was shouting involved. They were arguing over what to do with her. Evy couldn’t help but feel a little fear at whatever her oncoming punishment would be. She was certain a spanking was in order but being grounded for three months probably meant more than one. She wondered if she’d get a chance to explain her actions, then wondered if that would even do any good. She was surprised when the one-hour mark passed and her parents were still talking. She heard other voices in the living room. Sam and Dean were there, and were participating in the ‘what to do with Evy’ conversation as well. Evy considered packing a bag and slipping out her bedroom window, but those thoughts were quickly abandoned. They probably wouldn’t even care if I did leave, Evy thought. They didn’t notice when I was here, why would they care now that I’m not? Finally, two and a half hours after John had come home, Missy came to Evy’s bedroom door.   
“Come to the living room. We need to talk.”   
Evy walked out without a word. She sat on the far end of the couch, separated from everyone in the room. She took a quick glance at everyone’s faces. John was, of course, angry, Missy was upset and crying, and Sam and Dean just looked lost. Evy looked away from all of them and down to the floor.   
“Okay. Talk. Tell us why you did this.” John opened, his voice more like a growl.   
“Because I needed the money.”   
“For what?” John asked. “You better start talking, little girl. The harder you make this on us, the harder your punishment is gonna be for you.”   
“What do you care about how hard things are for me?” Evy said, looking up from the floor and into John’s eyes with an anger that for once matched his own.   
“Don’t give me a little sob story about how hard things are for you.” John said. “You wanted my attention, your mom’s, and your brother’s, and now you’ve got it.”  
“Cricket, that’s thousands of dollars that you made from this.” Sam said, trying to be gentle but firm at the same time. “What would you need that kind of money for?”   
“And where is what’s left?” John asked. “You certainly aren’t going to be using it.”   
“There is none left.” Evy said.   
“You spent all of it?” John raged.  
“Yes, sir, I did.”   
“What the fucking hell…?” John said, running a hand through his hair in more frustration than he’d felt in years. “You are thirteen years old.”  
“Fourteen.”   
“What?” John asked, clearly annoyed at the interruption.   
“I’m fourteen.” Evy said again.   
John stopped, racking his brain to remember the date. “That’s impossible.”  
“It isn’t when you forgot my last two birthdays.” Evy said bitterly.   
Missy looked at the calendar and realized Evy was right. Not only had they forgotten Evy’s birthday, but it had been over a month since it had passed. “John, she’s right.”   
“What?” John asked.   
“Kiddo, we’re sorry.” Dean apologized sincerely.   
“Yeah, I’m sure you are.” Evy snapped.   
“Enough!” John raged. “Forgetting a birthday is not reason enough to do something so incredibly stupid. Had you said something, we would have made it up to you. But this lazy, sour attitude you’ve had since your brothers and I got home ends now.”   
“Dad…” Sam and Dean said together.  
“John…” Missy added, trying to quell his anger.  
“No! Just like she said when we got home, I’m done.” John turned to Evy and explained, “You may not believe me, but I am sorry that I hurt you like I did. But what I did had to be done, and I am finished apologizing for it. And I am finished listening to your brothers and your mom apologize to you for it. I understand you are angry, but I am no longer going to allow you to make the rest of the family miserable because of it. If you’re so angry, hurt, and pissed off with us, maybe being away from us for a while will help you put into perspective how lucky you are to have so many people that love and care about you.”   
“What does that mean?” Evy asked. “Being away from you?”   
“You’re going back to your room and packing a bag.” John said.   
“Where are we going?”   
“We aren’t going anywhere.” John said. “You are not going to laze around this house for the next three months moping. You’re going to spend time thinking about the way you’ve been acting and what you’ve been doing. You will tell me what you’ve been doing with that money, and you will do something worthwhile with your time while you’re gone.”   
“Gone where?” Evy asked again.   
“We’re putting you on a bus to Bobby’s first thing in the morning.”   
Evy felt her heart twist painfully. “So you abandon me, and your solution to my little ‘temper tantrum’ as you call it, is to send me away.”   
“Cricket…”   
“Did the three of you agree to this?” Evy asked.  
Reluctantly, the answer was ‘yes’ all around.   
Evy nodded. “Fine. I’ll go pack.”   
Without giving anyone a chance to talk further, Evy stomped to her bedroom, threw her suitcase on the bed, and started angrily throwing clothes into it. She’d been called stupid by both her parents and worthless by her father in the span of four hours, and now her whole family had made the judgment it was better to send her away from them than to work on gaining trust back. She packed her things and laid on her bed for the rest of the night, ignoring attempts from her mother and brothers to explain their reasoning. The next day, at the bus station, she boarded the bus, ticket in hand, having not said one word to her mother or father since the argument in the living room the night before. Missy watched the bus leave, and John wrapped an arm around her shoulder when it was finally out of their line of sight.  
“Tell me we’re doing the right thing.” She whispered.   
“We’re doing the right thing.” John said. “She’ll realize after a while that if she’ll just start talking, things will start getting better.” He kissed her cheek and embraced her hard. “We’ve got to start rebuilding our family. That’s all we’re doing here. It will work out in the end, okay?”   
Missy nodded, but a sad thought occurred to her. “Or she’ll hate us forever.”


	16. Chapter 16

Bobby waited patiently as the passenger unloaded off the bus. He knew that Evy was claustrophobic and liked to wait and come off once everyone else was done, so he wasn’t worried. Finally, ten minutes after the bus parked, Evy walked off the bus. The first thing that stood out to Bobby was how exhausted she looked. Damn, when’s the last time that kid had a good night’s sleep? Evy got her bag from the driver, thanked him, and turned. She stopped a few feet away, looking at Bobby as if she had never seen him before. Bobby walked towards her, but was left speechless when Evy dropped her bag, ran to him full speed, and wrapped both arms around his waist.   
“Hey, Baitfish.”   
“Hey, uncle Bobby.” Evy said quietly.   
Bobby had planned to start her talking right away, but clearly she needed a break. “You hungry, kiddo?”   
“I’m starving.” Evy said, arms still around Bobby’s waist.  
“How about we go to that pancake place you always liked?” Bobby said. “You can get as much as you want.”   
Evy pulled away from Bobby just enough to look him in the face, but kept her arms around him. Kid, what the hell are you so sad about? Bobby thought.   
“Really?” Evy asked. “Whatever I want?”   
Damn it, kid, you’re breaking my heart here. It’s just pancakes. Bobby thought. “Whatever you want.”   
Evy nodded. “’Kay. Yes, please.”   
“Alright. Come on, we’ll go.” Bobby said. He chuckled when Evy kept her arms around him. “You gotta let me go so I can drive, Baitfish.”   
“Oh, right.” Evy said.  
For the first time in a long time, she cracked a smile. It felt foreign to her, and Bobby noticed that. It broke his heart. Every time Bobby had seen Evy from the time she was old enough to smile, he remembered her doing just that. He’d seen her smile and laugh when she was sick or hurt with almost no effort at all. She had always done her best to make everyone around her as happy as she was. As Bobby drove to the pancake house, he wondered to himself what possibly could have broken Evy so badly that it was an effort for her to do something as simple as smile.   
Bobby decided to wait on the talk he’d been planning to have with her. He remembered his conversation with John the day before. Evy’s attitude has gone downhill. She’s been suspended from school for cheating for money. She won’t talk to me, Missy, Sam, or Dean. I don’t know what to do anymore. Bobby had bit his tongue to keep from screaming Talk to your kid and keep talking! Two hours after arriving, they were back at Bobby’s. Evy took her bag to the guest room, came into the living room, and sat down on the couch, where Bobby joined her.   
“Time for us to talk, Baitfish.” Bobby said gently.  
“Okay.” Evy said quietly.   
“What’s going on?” Bobby asked. “What’s wrong?”   
Evy laughed bitterly. “Haven’t you heard? Dad and Dean and Sam are back. Everything’s great.”   
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you.” Bobby scolded gently. “Are you mad at them?”   
“Yes.” Evy said. “They left me alone. They weren’t there for birthdays, they weren’t there when I was sick, when I was scared. They just dropped off the planet and expect everything to be okay.”   
Bobby sighed. “Can I tell you a secret, Baitfish? You promise not to tell your parents?”   
“Sure.” Evy said, curious about the change in Bobby’s tone.  
“Your mom and dad are stupid.”   
“What?” Evy asked, shocked.   
“Your mom and dad are the biggest damn idjits I ever laid my eyes on.” Bobby said. “I completely agree with you. They left you, hurt you, and then sent you away instead of really working to fix it. You’ve got every reason to be pissed at them, and no reason at all to trust them.”  
Everything Bobby had said was the honest truth, but he had unknowingly opened a floodgate of emotion inside Evy. For the first time in recent memory, someone was listening. Not just talking, telling her that what she was feeling was wrong or bad or made everyone else feel bad, but really listening and caring about her. The tears came and wouldn’t stop, and Bobby was a little alarmed.   
“Baitfish, talk to me, baby.” Bobby said gently. When she said nothing, Bobby asked, “Look, you’re not in trouble. Not with me. But I need you to talk. What happened at school?”   
“I had to do it.” Evy said, still sobbing.  
“Why, baby?” Bobby asked, his own heart breaking at the obvious pain Evy was in. “Come on. Tell me. Why did you have to do it?”   
Evy started crying hard again at the question.  
“Okay, Baitfish. Let it out, baby girl.”   
Bobby pulled Evy into him, holding her just like he had when she’d been a toddler. Evy crawled into Bobby’s lap, laid her head on his chest, and cried. Bobby hugged her, and wondered the last time anyone had held or comforted her. That’s the first thing on the to do list this week, Bobby thought. When Evy’s crying had slowed to steady sniffing, Bobby decided to try again.   
“Tell me what you meant, Baitfish. Why did you have to do it? What were you using that money for? Where’s whatever’s left?” Bobby asked.   
“There’s nothing left.” Evy said.   
“What’d you use it for?” Bobby asked. Her answer nearly broke him.  
“Groceries.”   
Bobby was so shocked he stopped rubbing Evy’s back like he had been. “Groceries?”   
“Yeah.” Evy said, sitting up and wiping her eyes again. “I paid the bills too.”   
“What the hell, Baitfish?” Bobby asked. “Were things really that bad?”   
“When mommy lost her job, she fell behind on the bills really fast. She was so upset daddy was gone that she didn’t try to find another one. She just stayed in bed all day.”   
“Why didn’t you call me?” Bobby asked, genuinely lost. “I would’ve come to get you.”   
“I was all mommy had left.” Evy said tearily. “I was afraid you’d take me away from her. She needed help, and I didn’t want to leave her all alone.”   
Bobby was left beyond speechless.   
Unfortunately, Evy wasn’t done. “We would have lost the house, mommy’s car, we wouldn’t have been able to eat. I kept us together and all I got for it was called stupid, lazy, selfish, and worthless. Then they sent me away.”   
“Who the hell called you all those names?” Bobby asked.  
“Mommy and daddy both told me how stupid what I was doing was. Daddy told I was selfish for being mad at them. He told me I wasn’t gonna be lazy and mope around the house anymore, and that I was gonna do something worthwhile while I was here with you.” Evy explained.   
Suddenly, everything fell into place. The reason Evy looked so incredibly tired was because she was. She’d been the only family member working on actually keeping the family together. And in return, when the family finally did get back together, she got called names, made to feel guilty for being angry, and worst of all, sent off like an inconvenient, misbehaving house pet. Bobby’s heart shattered, but he was relieved to glad she was finally letting her feelings out.   
“Uncle Bobby, what did I do so wrong?”   
“Sit up and look at me, little girl.” Bobby said, pretending to be stern only to catch and keep her attention. When she was looking at him, Bobby wiped her face for her and said, “Not a thing. Not one damn thing. You did everything you could to take care of your mom, and she’s the one that let you down by not taking care of you. You are not stupid, you are not lazy, you are not selfish, and you are most definitely not worthless. You are a hero. Without you, your family would’ve fallen apart. And don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”  
“I’m a hero?” Evy asked.   
“You bet you are.” Bobby said. “But there’s just one problem.”   
“What?”   
“It’s not on you. You did do good, very good, but you’re a kid. From this point on, I want you to promise me that until you grow up, you’ll let your parents take care of you.” Bobby said.   
“What if they don’t want to?” Evy asked.   
“They do.” Bobby said. “I promise they do. I’m gonna rip them a new one about the way they treated you here, but I promise you they do.”   
Evy nodded. “Thanks, uncle Bobby.”   
“Just one thing, okay, Baitfish?” Bobby asked. “There is one little thing you did here. Do you know what it is?”   
Evy nodded again. “I didn’t talk to ‘em.”   
“Right. Baitfish, when you don’t talk, no one can tell what’s bugging you. Then it can’t be fixed. Do you understand?”   
“I get it, uncle Bobby. But you know Daddy. It’s hard for me to talk to him sometimes.” Evy said.   
“I’ll work on that too. Just promise me, please, that if something’s really bothering you, you’ll say something to somebody. If you have to, you can call me and talk to me about it, just don’t keep it bottled up. Deal?”   
“Deal.” Evy said with a yawn.  
“When’s the last time you had a good night’s sleep?” Bobby asked.  
Evy shrugged. “I don’t remember.”   
“Why don’t you go get some sleep?” Bobby said. “When you wake up, I’ll call your mom and dad and tell them to get their asses down here pronto.”   
Evy winced. “Do you have to call them now?”   
“You don’t want me to?”   
“No. Not yet.” Evy said. “I feel like I need a few days away from them.”   
“How about this?” Bobby asked. “I’ll call them in three days. Until then, you get some sleep, get some rest, do what you want to do.”   
“Thanks, uncle Bobby.” Evy said. She had finally, blessedly, stopped crying, and grabbed Bobby’s neck all over again. “Thank you for listening to me.”   
“Anytime, Baitfish. Anytime.” Bobby kissed her cheek and said, “When your parents get here, I’m gonna have a long talk with them first. But don’t worry about it until then, okay?”   
“Okay.” Evy said, yawning again. “I’m going to bed, uncle Bobby.” Evy hesitated, then decided to take the chance. “I love you.”   
“I love you too, Baitfish. I love you too.”   
He really means it, Evy thought. “Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?”   
“You bet. Let’s go.”   
Bobby walked to the bedroom with Evy, and for the first time in years, he tucked her into bed. He waited next to the bed, holding her hand, and two minutes later, she was fast asleep. Bobby stood, checked her blanket, and kissed her cheek. He checked the clock and shook his head. It was barely seven at night, and Evy was already fast asleep.   
“I’m gonna take care of this, Baitfish. Uncle Bobby’s got you.” Bobby whispered. “Sleep tight, baby. I got you.”


	17. Chapter 17

The days were long and peaceful at Bobby’s. He meant it when he told Evy to do what she wanted. The only chores he required of her were basic ones-make your bed, clean up after yourself. Other than that, Evy took long walks, read, went to the park down the street and played. Bobby had put Evy to bed at seven that first night, and she slept until ten the following morning. She slept thirteen hours the second night and eleven the third night. On the fourth day, Bobby breathed a sigh of relief when she slept a normal amount, woke up happy, and went twenty-four hours without crying.   
Bobby added another reason to kick the butts of Missy, John, Sam, and Dean to his list. They didn’t call to make sure Evy was there. A pissed off Bobby texted Sam on the third day Just in case you forgot, you got a sister over here. She got here safe. They didn’t call at all the entire time she was with them. Evy tried to hide it, but that hurt her as much as them sending her to Bobby’s. Bobby caught her watching the phone more than once.   
“You can call them, you know.” Bobby said.   
Evy shook her head. “No. I guess I know how much I mean to ‘em now.”   
Bobby frowned and grabbed Evy in her tenth hug in just a couple of days. “If you have to, you can stay here with me. If they don’t appreciate you, I will.”   
“Thanks, uncle Bobby.”   
Bobby distracted her after that by taking her out to the backyard and hooking up the sprinkler. They ended up chasing each other around the yard, ducking down behind old cars, spraying each other with water. Bobby was sore that night, but he had more fun than he’d had in years. Evy had stopped asking him to put her to bed, but Bobby did it anyway.   
“Thank you, uncle Bobby. That was fun today.”   
“That was fun.” Bobby said. “You’re gonna keep me young yet, kid.”   
“Good. You’re the only one who still likes me.” Evy said with a smile.  
Bobby turned serious. “Speaking of, I know you don’t want to talk to them, but I called your mom. They’re all four coming up here tomorrow.”   
Evy’s smile dropped quickly. “Do I have to talk to them?”   
“Not right away.” Bobby said. “Remember Sheriff Jody? You met her your first day here?” Evy nodded, and Bobby explained, “She’s coming to get you in the morning. You’re gonna ride with her tomorrow while she works.”   
“Really?” Evy asked, a little skeptical. “Won’t that be kind of boring?”  
“Are you kidding? You might get to go on traffic stops, watch her take down a bad guy…”   
“Really?” Evy asked, all skepticism dropped and replaced with excitement. “Cool!”   
“I’m just kidding. It probably will be boring. But she promised even if it was a boring day, she’d make it fun for you.” Bobby said.  
“Uncle Bobby! That’s mean!” Evy said, though she was laughing as she said it.   
“I’m gonna bring them all to the house and yell at them for what you told me. I don’t want you here for that. I’m gonna make them leave and get a room and think about everything, then I’ll let them come back. Make sense?” Bobby asked.  
Evy nodded. “Yeah.”, she whispered.  
“Hey. Everything’s gonna work out. Worst case, you stay here and start school here next year.” Bobby said. “Is that really so bad?”   
“No. It’s not.” Evy said sincerely.   
“Just promise me that when I put you guys together you’ll talk to them. Even if you still feel like yelling, just promise you’ll talk.”   
“I promise.” Evy said. “Do I have to do it alone? Will you stay?”   
“I won’t leave you.” Bobby swore. “Not until you say it’s okay.”   
Evy nodded, happy because she knew he wouldn’t break his promise. Even if the rest of her family did, Bobby wouldn’t leave. “Good night, uncle Bobby.”   
“Night, Baitfish. Love you.” Bobby said. “You want me to stay ‘till you go to sleep?”   
“No. I know you’re right down the hall. Love you too.”   
Bobby tucked her in and stepped out, taking one last look at Evy in the doorway. The difference in her from the beginning of the week was startling. She was rested, happy, and was coming back to her old self quickly. She no longer had everyone on her shoulders. She reminded Bobby of a twenty years younger Dean, who more than once had been forced to give up his childhood in order to care for a young Sammy. No more, Bobby decided. This kid’s gonna be a kid whether you like it or not, John. Don’t screw this up tomorrow. Bobby shut the door, leaving it slightly ajar with the hall light on in case Evy decided she needed him in the middle of the night.   
Jody came to pick up Evy the next morning, and Bobby waited, seething. He had deliberately waited until after Evy got to sleep to actually call John and tell him to come. He had told Evy he already called simply to gauge her reaction. If she had been too afraid to talk to them, Bobby would have backed out and waited another couple of days. He had told John that Evy was hurt and he needed to get here pronto. He didn’t give details, just let John assume that Evy had been seriously injured and needed her father and mother and brothers immediately. Maybe now you’ll appreciate her a little more, you son of a bitch. Sure enough, that afternoon, Bobby heard the Impala and John’s truck screech to a halt in his driveway. He quickly did the math-John and Dean had made a twenty-four to twenty-six hour trip in just under eighteen hours. Bobby smiled as his front door was practically barreled down, and John, Sam, Dean, and Missy tumbled all over each other.   
“Bobby, where is she?” They all asked at exactly the same time.   
“She’s fine. Sit your ass down.” Bobby said authoritatively. “All of you.”   
“Bobby what the hell?” John said. “I thought you said she was sick.”   
“She is. I didn’t say it was physically though, did I?” Bobby pointed out. “Again, sit your ass down before I make you do it.”   
“Bobby, is she okay?” Missy asked.  
For the briefest of moments, Bobby felt guilty; Missy had clearly been crying. “Yeah. She’s okay. She’s spending the day with a friend of mine.”   
“Then why did you tell us she was hurt?” John demanded.   
“I’m only going to say it one more time. “I’m only going to say it one more time. All four of you sit your ass down on the couch NOW. I’ve got some shit to say to all of you, and it ain’t gon’ wait any longer.” When Missy, John, Sam, and Dean were finally all seated, Bobby began his lecture.   
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out how all of you together got to be so danged stupid.”  
“Bobby, what…?” Sam started, only to be cut off.   
“Shut up, Sam. I’ll let you know when you can talk.” Bobby said, and Sam obediently shut his mouth. “The reason I sent her away is so I can chew you guys up and spit you out without her being here. I have always loved all of you like you’re my blood, but I have never been so damn ashamed to know you.”   
“Bobby…” Missy said. “What are you talking about?”   
“I’ll tell you, but first I have a question for you. You lost your job nine months ago, right?” Missy nodded, and Bobby turned to John. “I found out what she was doing with the money.”   
“Okay…?” John said, infuriating Bobby even further.   
“Are you really that dense?” Bobby asked. “Missy, if you didn’t have a job for nine months, how the hell were your bills getting paid?”   
“John was paying them.” Missy answered.   
“No, I wasn’t.”   
“What?” Missy asked, astonished.  
“I never sent you any money while we were on the road.” John said. “I couldn’t figure out a way to do it without it getting traced.”   
“So, if you didn’t do it, where did…” Missy started to realize what Bobby was telling her, and it made her feel ashamed. “Oh, no.”   
“You putting the pieces together now?” Bobby asked bitterly.   
“What the hell’s going on?” Dean asked, speaking for the first time since they got there.   
“For those of you late to the party,” Bobby said, “the money Evy got from cheating for those other kids went towards paying the bills and buying groceries.”  
A stunned silence fell over the room.   
“Do you know how long it took me to figure out what was wrong with that kid? A plate of pancakes and fifteen minutes of talking. She cried for two solid hours that first day she was here.”   
“Bobby, she wouldn’t talk to us…” Sam tried to defend them.   
“It’s pretty hard to talk to someone who hasn’t given her five minutes of attention in two years.” Bobby said.   
“We called when we could…” John said.   
“Stop damn defending yourself. There is no defense for this.” Bobby said. “If you called when you could, why didn’t she hear from you guys after you shipped her here?”   
“We put a GPS tracker in her bag. We knew when she got here.” John explained.  
“You know what she said when you hadn’t called after three days?” Bobby asked. “She glanced at the phone a hundred times an hour. When I reminded her she could call you, she told me ‘No. I guess I know how they really feel about me now.’”  
John’s face looked as if he’d been slapped, but he immediately shut his mouth and sat back down.   
“Now, Dean, I’ll start with you.”   
“What did I do?” Dean asked.   
“You used to pride yourself on taking care of Sam when you guys were younger. And you did a great job with it. But you fell down on the job with Evy.” Dean looked away, and Bobby continued. “I expected you to be the one to call and check on her at least every few days. But she tells me she heard from you a sum total of eight times in two years. I want you to think about that.”  
Dean nodded slowly. “You’re right.”   
Bobby was gentler on Dean than he had planned to be on John and Missy. Dean was only following his father’s lead, so Bobby moved quickly on to Sam.   
“Sam, I know you got knocked flat on your ass when Jess died. I get it. I really do. But Evy didn’t die. She was still right here, and she still needed you. She could have handled it with your dad and Dean being gone and not calling, but if you had been around or stayed in touch with her like you should have, this whole mess with her having to take care of Missy could have been avoided. You think about that.”   
Sam nodded, and Bobby moved on to Missy.   
“You were a good mama to her for a long time. You were a buffer for him.” Bobby said, pointing at John. “You kept him from being too big of an asshole to his kids. But you checked out. You fell down on the job. Am I wrong about that?”   
“No.” Missy said quietly.  
“I told her that if you start to slip again, to call me. And if she calls me, I will come pick her up, bring her back here, and you won’t get another chance. Got it?”  
“Yes. Thank you, Bobby.” Missy said.  
“One more thing.” Bobby said, sitting down on the coffee table in front of Missy. Missy looked him in the eye and Bobby thought to himself Damn you look like Baitfish’s twin. “When John wants to be, he’s a good man. But when it comes to choosing between John and your kid, she comes first. Every time. Clear?”  
“Clear.” Missy said.  
“And you.” Bobby said, finally turning to John. “Don’t think I’m stupid. I know it was your idea to send her here, wasn’t it?”   
“Yeah.”   
“What the hell were you thinking?” Bobby asked.   
“I couldn’t take her attitude anymore.” John explained.  
“Her attitude is the problem?” Bobby asked. “You know, you like to throw that word around a lot when one of your kids is the slightest bit unhappy with you.”   
“Bobby, I tried to do my best…”   
“If you had honestly tried to be half as good a dad as you were a hunter, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in right now.” Bobby said. He knew it was harsh, but John had to hear the truth. “You have screwed up your job as her father. She forgave you a thousand times for a thousand different things. But the thousand and first time, she finally gets pissed off at you and refuses to forgive you for a while, and your solution is to put her on a bus and send her away.”  
“I sent her here because of the cheating…”   
“Yeah. She got in trouble in school for, what? The second time ever? Even if it hadn’t been for a damn good reason, that’s at the very bottom of the list of what’s wrong here.” Bobby said. He expected John to argue with him, but when he didn’t, Bobby delivered the death blow. “John, you broke that kid. She put everything she had into making sure you knew she loved you. And you screwed it up by not giving her the same thing. Are you hearing me?”   
“Yeah.” John said quietly.   
“Do you four want to fix this?” Bobby asked.  
“Of course, we do.” Missy said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.   
“Think about it before you answer me. Because all of you are on your last chance here. Any of you hurt Baitfish again, she comes here and she stays here.” Bobby said.  
“Bobby, please. We need her back.” Sam said.   
“Yeah, she needs to come home.” Dean answered.   
Bobby nodded, satisfied that Dean and Sam understood their part in the mess. But it wasn’t you two I was worried about, he thought as he said, “And you two?”   
“I want my baby back, Bobby.” Missy said. “I’ll get on my knees and beg forgiveness if I need to. But I want my baby back.”   
“I’ll be right there with you.” John said.  
“Okay.” Bobby said, happy they were getting on the right track. “But we’re still not quite done. You’re not getting her back tonight.”   
“What?”, everyone said at exactly the same time.   
“You’re not getting her back tonight.” Bobby repeated coolly. “She knows you’re here today, but she needs a little more time before she sees you guys. And I agree with her.”   
“Bobby, that shouldn’t be her decision.” John said, the slightest bit of anger coming back.   
“Well, it is. Because until she tells me she’s ready to go home, I ain’t making her go. Missy, do you disagree with me?”   
“No.” Missy said.  
“What?” John asked.  
“John, if we force her to talk and force her to go home with us, it’ll make this worse.” Missy explained. “We have to do this on her timeline.”   
John sighed. “Fine.”   
“Bobby, when do you want us back?” Missy asked.  
“Twenty-four hours.” Bobby answered.  
“Why so long?” John asked. “Why can’t we come back tonight?”   
“Because your kid is having some fun for the first time in years.” Bobby snapped. “And because I want all of you to think about the things I told you to think about. And I want you, specifically, to think about the fact that because you were gone fulfilling what you wanted to do with your life, your kid was taking care of herself and your wife. That she’s the reason you, Sam, and Dean had a house to come back to in the first place. And in exchange for all that, she got yelled at, called stupid, lazy, worthless, and, my personal favorite, selfish.” Bobby noticed John flinch when he said ‘selfish’. “That kid ain’t thought about herself in months. She’s hurting, tired, and now she feels like she don’t mean a damn thing to any of you. She’s been living with that for days, so the least you can do is stew in it for a day.”   
John finally gave in. “Okay, Bobby. We’ll be back tomorrow.”   
Bobby’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and told the four of them sternly, “Do not say a word.” Bobby put the phone on speaker. “Hey, Baitfish. How’s it going with Jody?”   
“Uncle Bobby, this is the best day ever!” An excited Evy practically shouted.   
“You’re having fun then?”   
“You bet I am!” Evy said, and launched into a lengthy description of her day so far.   
As she talked, Bobby noticed the looks on the faces of everyone on the couch. Evy finally seemed as happy as they had been when the demon had died and their hunting lives were finally over. But they had nearly killed that joy inside of her by not paying just a little more attention to her. Evy finally asked,  
“Uncle Bobby, Sheriff Jody talked to the fire chief and he said I could go over and have dinner with them. See the trucks and everything like that. Can I go?”   
“You bet you can, Baitfish. Go have fun.” Bobby said.   
“Thanks, uncle Bobby. Love you.”   
“Love you too, kiddo. See you later.” Bobby, said, hanging up the phone. He placed his phone on the counter and told them, “Go on. Go. Get a room, sleep in the car and truck, I don’t really care. But you can’t stay here tonight.”   
Sam, Dean, and John walked out with nothing more than a nod of acknowledgment to Bobby. Missy stood up and said to Bobby, “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of her. Opening up out eyes.”   
Bobby nodded. “You can do this. All she wants is her mom and dad back.”   
“I’ll remember that.” Missy said. She opened her arms and said, “Can I have a hug?”   
Bobby smiled. “Come here, idjit.”   
“It’s good to see you, Bobby.”   
“You too.” Bobby said. “Go on, get out of here.” As Missy walked out, Bobby thought to himself, Don’t screw this up, you guys. It really is your last chance.


	18. Chapter 18

“Was it good, uncle Bobby?”   
“That was the best dinner I’ve had in a long time, Baitfish.” Bobby said sincerely. He was so used to canned and frozen dinners that Evy’s homemade fish and French fries had seemed like a feast. “Where’d you learn to cook like that?”   
“I had to. Mommy started complaining about us having sandwiches every night…” Evy said, then stopped, looking down to the floor.  
Bobby frowned. It was the first time she’d said anything about either of her parents in a couple of days. Bobby wouldn’t let her do the dishes, instead making her sit at the table and talk about anything and everything while he did them. By the time the dishes were done, he could tell Evy had something on her mind, and he could guess what it was.   
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Baitfish?”   
Evy sighed and asked him, “Are you sure they want me back?”   
“Yes.” Bobby promised her. “I talked to them last night. I told them everything you said. They’re really sorry for everything, and they want to make it up to you. All you got to do is listen and talk to them.”  
“I still feel…” Evy said, trying to figure it out as she talked.  
“Feel what?” Bobby asked.   
“Bad.” Evy said. “Like I can’t trust them until they prove to me I can.”   
“Then tell them that.” Bobby said. “You don’t have to forgive them yet. They treated you like crap.”  
“But that’s half the reason I’m here with you in the first place!” Evy said. “Because Daddy got mad that I wouldn’t forgive him.”   
Bobby grabbed a chair and placed it in front of her. “I already talked to your daddy about the way he treated you before. I swear to you, he’s gonna listen now. If he doesn’t, I’ll kick his ass for you until he’s inside out and upside down.”   
Evy giggled at Bobby’s vivid imagery.   
“Baitfish, the thing about your daddy is this. When he’s hurt, or scared, or upset, he doesn’t know how to talk about it. He yells and snaps because he doesn’t know how to deal with it.” Bobby said. “Does that make sense?”   
“So, when he’s mean it’s because he feels bad too?” Evy asked, honestly perplexed.   
“Yeah.” Bobby explained. “I know he’s an idjit when it comes to showing you, but he does love you, Baitfish. And your mom does too. With her, you gotta remember this. She lost one husband and kid before. So when your daddy went missing, and your brothers followed him, think about how scared she must have felt.”  
“I never thought about that.” Evy said.   
“Just talk to them, Baitfish. Nothing’ll get better ‘til you start talking.” Bobby assured her.  
“I’m scared, uncle Bobby.” Evy said quietly.  
“I’ll be right there.” Bobby said. “I promise, as long as you want me there, I’ll be right there with you.”   
As if they’d overheard Bobby and Evy’s conversation, there was a knock then at the front door. A nervous Evy bit her bottom lip and looked to the floor. Bobby grabbed her arm and asked,   
“Do you want to answer it?”   
With no hesitation, Evy shook her head. “No.”   
“Okay. Come on.” Bobby said.  
Bobby led her into the living room, where Evy took a seat on the arm of the couch. Her family filed in slowly, first Sam, who held a bag on one shoulder, then Dean, who had a box in his hand, followed by Missy and John. Everyone stood awkwardly for a moment, saying nothing, until Missy finally broke the silence.  
“Hi, Kitten.”   
Evy surprised everyone when she jumped off the arm of the couch and ran to her mother for the first real hug they’d shared in two years. John hoped Evy would move on to him, Sam, and Dean, but she let her mom go and walked back towards the couch. Bobby took a seat at his desk, and Evy, at the last minute, decided to walk over and sit with him. Evy turned and leaned against Bobby, who wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer to him. The close contact seemed to give her strength.   
“What are you guys doing here?” Evy asked with tears in her eyes.   
John started to say something in response, until he realized that Evy’s tone wasn’t confrontational; it held no anger, only hurt, pain, and profound sadness.  
“You said I couldn’t come home until I started summer school.” Evy said, wiping her eyes. “So why are you here?”   
John smiled a little. “Bobby didn’t exactly give us much choice. He told us you were hurt…”   
“So uncle Bobby had to call you and trick you into coming?” Evy asked, and that anger that John hadn’t heard before was definitely starting to seep out. “You didn’t come because you wanted to see me?”  
“Little one…” John started to say, before Evy stopped him cold.   
“Sorry, I forgot. You have a reason for doing everything you do, so that means you’re always right. That means it stops hurting just because you say you’re sorry.”   
John stuttered, not sure how to respond.   
“I begged mommy not to make you leave every time you scared me, or were mean to me, or made me feel bad about myself. I loved you more than I was ever mad at you. And I thought you loved me just as much. But the first time I actually get mad at you, you ship me away for it.”   
Shame coursed through John like poison. “You’re right, little one. I’m sorry.”   
“All of you left me. All of you did. You didn’t even pay attention enough to know that my only friend through this whole thing died.” Evy said bitterly. “Then after I got here, not one of you called to check on me. Do I really mean that little to all of you? That you won’t even check to make sure I’m safe?”   
“Kitten, please listen to me.” Missy said. “We did check to make sure you were safe. We put something in your bag to make sure you got here okay. We thought you’d still be mad at us, so we decided to let you be the one to decide when you were ready to talk to us.”   
“None of you even really tried to talk to me. You said you were sorry once and just expected everything to be okay. All of you left me alone and you don’t care.” Evy fumed.  
“Cricket, that’s not true. We do care.” Sam said. When Evy shook her head and turned away, Sam begged her, “Please come here, Cricket. I want to show you something.”   
Evy looked at Bobby, who whispered to her ‘It’s up to you’, and Evy cautiously walked over towards Sam. He took out his bag and opened it up, and Evy sat down on the coffee table in front of him. Sam pulled out a handful of spiral notebooks from the bag, handing them to Evy one at a time.   
“What’s this?”   
“Open them up. They’re written to you.” Sam said.   
Evy opened the first notebook and her mouth dropped open.  
“Cricket, the whole time we were gone, we all missed you every single day. And when we did miss you and we couldn’t call, because we were in the middle of a hunt or whatever, we’d write to you in a notebook. It started off as one and turned into six.” Sam explained, then stopped when he noticed Evy was crying again. “Cricket, what’s wrong?”  
“You guys never told me that.” Evy said sadly.   
“Told you what, kiddo?” Dean asked. “About the notebooks?”   
“That you missed me.”   
“Little one, what are you talking about?” John asked. “Of course we told you we missed you…”   
“No, you didn’t.” Evy argued. “You said you were sorry and that you had to leave but you didn’t tell me you missed me ‘til just now.”  
“Oh, kiddo.” Dean said. How the hell could we have been so stupid? “We missed you so much. We thought about you all the time. And I promise, hunting’s over. We’re all focused on being home now.”   
“Little one, I’m sorry too. It’s hard for me to remember sometimes that I need to tell you things like that. But if you’ll give me another chance, I swear I’ll work on it.”   
Evy looked down at the notebooks in her hand. Her mind was starting to turn. She was still upset, but she realized now they’d just gotten caught up in what they were doing. But she’d always imagined them focused on capturing the demon without giving her so much as a thought. The books were clearly evidence that they did love her, that they still wanted her, and that they did want everything to change. Evy looked up at her father, who she knew was the real reason she was at Bobby’s now instead of home with them.   
“Please don’t leave me here.” She begged. “Please let me come home. I’m sorry for everything, just please don’t leave me again…”   
“Kitten, come here.” Missy said. She held an arm out and was grateful when Evy walked over and cautiously sat in her lap. “I can’t say it enough. We are sorry. You’re right. All of us did leave you, including me. I can’t imagine how lonely we made you feel, and I’ll never forgive myself for not taking care of you.” Evy wiped her eyes and Missy asked, “Can I hold you?”   
Evy nodded, “Yes, please.”   
Missy sat back and pulled Evy further into her lap. She could never explain how grateful she was that Evy still fit there. It used to worry her that Evy was small for her age, but for the first time, there was an advantage to it.   
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It’s my fault for pushing you into that position. But that’s over. You don’t have to take care of me anymore. It’s time for you to go back to being a kid.” Missy explained. “I’m sorry, Kitten, I’m so, so sorry.”   
“So can I come home?” Evy asked anxiously.   
“No.” Missy answered and felt Evy tense up. “But only because we’re not going back either.”   
“What?”   
“Your daddy and I talked a lot last night.” Missy said. “He found a job here at the garage in town. We’re gonna stay here for a while. That is, if your uncle Bobby will have us…”   
“I think I can make some room.” Bobby said with a grin.”   
“And it’s time for you to make one more decision.” Missy said. “The news has gotten around in Palo Alto about what you did at school.”   
“I’m sorry…”   
“Shh. Just listen. Your principal is still willing to let you come back to school. But we were thinking about moving back here. Staying with your uncle Bobby until we find a place of our own. What do you think?” Missy asked.   
“You’re letting me choose?” Evy asked.   
“Yes.” Missy said. “You can think about it for a while if you want…”   
“I want to stay here.” Evy said with no hesitation.   
“Okay. There’s just one thing.” Missy said. “You might have to redo your ninth-grade year. We can go talk to the local high school next week if you want, but I was thinking we use the five months until school starts next fall and spend some time together.”  
“What about Sammy?” Evy asked. “Aren’t you going back to Stanford?”   
“I have to go back in the fall and finish my last semester. But I’ll be back here as much as I can. I’ll graduate in December, come back and apply to law school here.” Sam explained. “But until September, I’m all yours.”   
“Don’t we have to go back and pack up the house?” Evy asked.   
“You let me and Daddy worry about that.” Missy said. “When we do go back to deal with the house, we’ll take you if you want to go. But you let me and Daddy handle it.”   
“Kiddo, we’ve got something else for you too.” Dean said. He opened the bag he had brought in with him and started handing Evy some wrapped presents. “What’s all this?”   
“The birthdays and Christmases that we missed.” Dean said.   
“Guys, I just wanted you back. You don’t have to…”   
“Little one, we bought these while we were gone.” John explained. “Your mom wrapped them last night, but we got them on the road.”  
“We were always thinking about you, kiddo.” Dean said. “We’re just sorry we didn’t let you know.”   
John took Evy’s hand and squeezed. “Hunting’s over. If you give me a chance, all I want to be now is your daddy.”   
“And me your mom, and Sam and Dean your brothers.” Missy said.   
Evy jumped out of Missy’s lap and into John’s. “I love you, Daddy. Please stay with us, please don’t leave again.”  
“Never again.” John swore. “Never again.”   
“What about what happened at school?” Evy asked. “Am I still in trouble for that?”  
“No. Clean slate for you. And if you agree, clean slate for all of us.”   
“Deal.” Evy said, arms still around John’s neck. After close to a minute of just holding on to John, Evy grinned. “Daddy?”   
“Yes?”   
She tried to sound like she was complaining, but she couldn’t pull it off. Laughing, she said, “You’re squishing me!” The rest of the room laughed, finally breaking the thick tension in the room. “Seriously, though. Let me go, please. I want my presents.”   
John laughed and kissed her cheek. “I love you.”   
“Love you too, Daddy.”  
With a quick hug to Sam, Dean, and Missy, Evy turned to the coffee table and starting ripping up the presents. After the presents were open, paper littering Bobby’s living room floor, Evy was on Bobby’s couch, nestled between her parents. Sam and Dean had kissed and hugged her goodnight earlier, and Evy slept with her head on John’s lap and her feet in Missy’s.   
“You two should go to bed.” Bobby said quietly. “It’s been a long day.”   
“Yeah, it has. But it’s been a good one.” John said.  
“We’re okay, Bobby. Let her sleep.” Missy said. “Good night.”   
Bobby brought over a blanket, wrapped it on top of Evy, then told them both seriously, “You two got another chance here. Don’t screw it up.”   
“We won’t.” Missy said. “We promise.” Bobby left, and Missy turned to John. “Do you want to put her to bed?”   
“No. We’ll sleep right here. Good night.”   
“Night.” Missy said, then turned to Evy. “Good night, Kitten. Mommy loves you.”   
“Daddy does too.” John said. “Sleep well, little one. Daddy’s right here for you.”


	19. Chapter 19

Eleven Years Later  
John walked into the house, greasy and dirty from working on cars all day. He walked to the bathroom and cleaned himself off, the mementos of his life filling his heart with pride just like it did every day. Pictures on the wall, mostly of the past decade, all of which contained smiling, happy faces. It still took him by surprise at times. He had his family back. A real, functional one. His heart felt lighter each and every day that he didn’t have to leave and go save strangers. As he left the bathroom and went to his room to change clothes, he remembered to call Dean and tell him to come home.   
Dean had quickly grown bored with the ‘apple pie’ life in South Dakota, as he called it, and with his parents’ and Evy’s permission, became Bobby’s full-time hunting partner. Sam graduated from Stanford with honors, then graduated from law school at the University of South Dakota with honors. John got and kept his job at the local garage, and when his boss eventually retired, John took over the business. John finally finished changing and walked down the hall towards Evy’s room. He found her instead in the living room, curled up with a blanket on the couch.   
“Hey, little one. How you feeling?”   
Evy answered with a loud, wet cough, and John quickly sat beside her and rubbed her back until she calmed down. He took stock of her appearance, and the crushing worry of the last three days cranked up a notch. She was pale, held a steady fever, and was shaking like a leaf. Once she’d calmed down, John asked,  
“Does your head still hurt?”   
“Yes.” Evy said quietly.   
“You want one of the pills the doctor gave you?” John asked quietly.  
Evy shook her head slowly. “No.”  
He heard her try to hide it, but he heard the crack in Evy’s voice and felt her crying. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”   
“I just miss mommy.”   
John’s heart cracked. “I know, little one. I miss her too.”   
As much as John loved his life now, there was one big piece missing. Two years to the day of reuniting as a family in Bobby’s living room, Missy developed a cough that refused to go away. At first, she shoved it aside as a bad cold, but after six months of it not going away, John dragged her to the doctor, who revealed the devastating news. The lung cancer that had killed Missy’s mother had only been exacerbated by her smoking. It was hereditary. Missy fought hard, but three days after Evy graduated high school, she died in her sleep.   
Missy’s death hit the whole family hard, but none so hard as Evy. Evy had planned on taking a gap year after high school. She told Missy it was to “figure out what she wanted to do with her life” but told John the real reason. She didn’t want to move away as sick as Missy was. While John was more than happy to agree with the plan, it got thrown into the gutter when Missy died. A directionless Evy ended up working at the garage with John, keeping the office, paperwork, and the books in order. By the end of her second week, the business was running smoother than John had ever seen it, and he asked her to stay.   
She had worked faithfully for him, five days a week, eight hours a day, for five years, until the past week. She’d come down with a flu that John could barely believe. She had a world class headache, fever, chills, and was weak. John had made her go to the hospital the second day she was sick and had been left frustrated when she got sent home with only a prescription and orders of bedrest.   
“Daddy, will you heat up some of that soup Bobby made, please?” Evy asked.   
“Are you hungry?” John asked, hopeful. She hadn’t had an appetite in days; was she getting better?  
“A little.” Evy said.   
“I’ll get it. You lay back down, okay?”   
“Okay, Daddy.” Evy said. “I’m sorry I missed another day.”   
“The office will still be there. You’re more important.” John said. “You want a sandwich too?”   
“I don’t know if I can eat all of it.”   
“I’ll help.” John said. “Lay back down.”   
“Thanks, Daddy.” Evy said. “Love you.”   
John stood up and kissed her forehead. “I love you too. Lay down, get some rest.”   
As Evy laid back down and John headed towards the kitchen, Evy marveled at the different man her father was compared to twelve years before. He was much more relaxed, gentler, and seemed at peace. Evy had worried when Missy died that John would go back to his old ways, but instead he had doubled his focus on her. They’d helped each other get through Missy’s death, and as a result, the two of them were closer than ever.   
In the kitchen, John pulled out his phone and called Dean. When he didn’t get an answer, he hung up and called Bobby. Bobby picked up and John stepped outside on the back porch quietly.   
“Hey, Bobby. How’s the hunt going?”   
“Not bad. But that’s not why you called. Baitfish okay?” Bobby asked.  
John smiled. “How’d you know?”   
“It’s in your voice. What’s wrong?” Bobby asked again.  
“She’s not gotten worse, I’m just…I’m worried, Bobby.”   
“We’re done with the hunt.” Bobby said. “We were gonna get a room and come back in the morning. You want us to get back there tonight?”   
“Please, Bobby. I’m getting scared here.”   
“We’re coming.” Bobby said. “We’re coming.”   
“Thanks, Bobby.” John said. He hung up with Bobby and called Sam.   
“Dad?” Sam asked. “Hey, what’s going on?”   
“Hey, Sam. Are you free tonight?”   
“Sure. What’s going on? Is Cricket okay?” Sam asked.   
“She’s really sick, Sam. I’m getting worried. I could use some backup with her tonight.” John said.   
“Sure, Dad. I get done at the office in an hour or so. I’ll come right after that.”   
“Thanks, Sam. I’ll see you soon.” John said. John reopened the back door and was just about to close it again when he heard a sound that took his breath away.   
“Daddy!”   
Evy had screamed for him. Her voice was louder than it had been all week, and she was panicking. John ran to the living room, and found Evy sitting up, clutching her head tightly, and crying.   
“What’s wrong?” John asked.   
“My head.” Evy said.   
“It’s worse?”   
“A lot worse.” Evy said, then let out a cry that set John’s hair on end. “Oh, God, Daddy, it hurts.”   
“That’s it. Come on. We’re going back to the hospital.”   
Suddenly, everything stopped. Evy grew completely still. There was no sound anywhere. The two clocks on the wall stopped ticking. The TV Evy had been watching was frozen. The sound of the heater, which had been running a few degrees higher than normal all week because of Evy’s fever, was completely gone. Just as John was about to investigate, a voice called from the far corner of the room.   
“John Winchester.”   
John jumped and instinctively reached for the gun he no longer carried on a daily basis. In the corner was a man, dressed in slacks, a white shirt, and a trench coat. He looked a little older than Dean, with black hair and a gravelly voice. John grabbed Evy with one hand and asked,   
“Who are you?”   
“My name is Castiel.”   
“What are you doing here?” John asked. “What’s going on?”   
“I’m an angel of the Lord.”  
John scoffed. “There’s no such thing as angels.”   
“I assure you, there are.” Castiel said.   
He moved towards Evy and John practically spat, “Don’t touch her.”   
“I am not going to hurt her.” Castiel said. “I am simply trying to see how sick she is.”   
“Pretty damn sick.” John said bitterly.   
“I understand.” Castiel said evenly. “Please, I promise I won’t hurt her.”   
“Are you the one that stopped everything?” John asked.  
“No.” Castiel said. “I promise I’ll explain. But I must check her first.”   
John didn’t know what made him do it, but he agreed. “All right. But I stay right beside her.”   
“Of course.”   
Castiel moved to the other side of Evy and carefully placed a hand to her forehead. John watched carefully, amazed with the process. Castiel closed his eyes, and his mouth turned into a deep frown. He opened his eyes and whispered something that John couldn’t quite make out, but sounded a lot like “I’m sorry”.   
“What’s going on?”   
“The disease has progressed very far.” Castiel said sadly. “Much further than I originally thought.”   
“Disease? What disease? She has the flu.”   
“No.” Castiel explained. “She has something much more serious.”   
I knew it, John thought. “More serious? What does that mean?”   
“Humans do not have a name for it yet. But at the moment, the only thing holding back the disease from infecting others is your daughter’s body.”  
“What the hell does that mean?” John demanded. “Are you saying she’s basically an incubator?”  
“For lack of a better word, yes.”   
“What in the hell is going on here?” John demanded again. “Who are you?”   
“I know that you are reluctant to believe me. But time is running very short here.” Castiel said, and much to John’s rage, he was still speaking in an even, calm tone. “Please give me your hand.”   
“What?”   
“Your hand.” Castiel said, holding out his towards John.   
John cautiously touched Castiel’s hand. Somehow, John realized that Castiel was telling the truth. Evy was ill, violently ill, with an epidemic that would kill nearly everyone in the world if it got out. John saw Evy in an entirely new light. He knew that she’d felt miserable the last few days, but the weight on her shoulders felt as if it would crush John, and it didn’t even belong to him. With tears in his eyes, John faced the truth.   
“There’s nothing we can do.”   
“No.” Castiel answered. “I’m afraid not.”   
“Then why are you here?” John asked. “Why not just take her?”   
“It’s not that simple.” Castiel said. “Your daughter is very special.”   
“Special? What does that mean?”   
“Perhaps we should bring Sam and Dean here. They need to hear this as well.” Castiel said.   
“What…”  
Before John could ask his question, Sam, Dean, and Bobby appeared in the living room. All of them appeared just as confused as John had been, but the look of stone cold terror on John’s face, and the tears he was now freely shedding, scared all of them more than the fact that they’d been lifted from two different destinations, in two different states, and placed in the living room of their family home with presumably no effort at all.  
“Dad?” Sam was the first to speak. “Dad, what’s going on?”   
“Both of you boys need to listen up.” John said, attempting to sound commanding but failing miserably.   
“John, what in the hell…?” Bobby asked.   
“Not exactly.” Castiel said.   
“Who the hell are you?” Dean asked.   
“I am not from hell, I assure you.” Castiel replied. “My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord.”   
“Boys, I know it sounds crazy.” John said. “Believe me, I know it does. But it’s true.”  
“Dad, how is that possible?” Sam asked.   
“And why are you here?” Bobby asked. “And how did you stop…everything?”   
“I didn’t.” Castiel said. “Please, we are running out of time.”   
“Out of time for what?”   
“Evelyn is what is referred to as a Sensitive. Her body is, physically, much stronger than the typical human. But her soul is, for lack of a better word, elastic.” Castiel said. “Evelyn can survive anything physical, as long as she is willing to. But when she goes through something emotional, it can cause her soul to stretch. In extreme cases, this stretching can cause a Sensitive to lose their minds.”   
“If she can survive anything, why is this flu even an issue?” John asked. “If she’ll get through it, why are you here?”   
“What do you mean if she’ll get through it, Dad?” Sam asked, panic setting in.   
John sighed. “Your sister won’t make it out of this, Sam.”   
“That is not necessarily true.” Castiel said. “Evelyn has a choice here whether or not to die. She is making that choice as we speak.”   
“The hell she’ll die!” Dean protested.   
“If she doesn’t, the majority of the rest of the world will.” Castiel calmly replied. “It is entirely your sister’s choice.”   
“Let me get this straight.” Sam said. “She carries this monster virus, that if it gets out, kills the whole planet. The only way to stop it is if she chooses to die.”   
“Yes.” Castiel said.  
“What happens to her if she chooses not to?” Sam asked. The thought of losing Evy, especially when Missy’s death still felt so fresh, made Sam forget the rest of the world. “Does she die?”   
“No. But she will remain ill for the rest of her life. Which in her case, could be forever.” Castiel explained.   
“Are we allowed to try and talk her out of it?” Sam asked.  
“Sam.” John spoke from the couch, where he was sitting next to a still frozen Evy. “We can’t talk her out of it.”   
“Dad! Are you saying you’re okay with this?”   
“Don’t be stupid, Sam!” John snapped. “Of course I’m not okay with it.”  
“Then why…”   
“Because if we don’t, she’ll stay this way for the rest of her life.” John said, swallowing back the bile in his throat as he said it. “Sam, you weren’t here earlier today. Right after I called you, she started screaming and crying. Her head was hurting worse than it ever had before.”   
“She was bleeding into her brain.” Castiel said. “That’s a symptom that the flu is about to kill someone, or in Evy’s case, that it’s about to escape.”   
“We really didn’t need to hear that.” Bobby said.   
“Sam, I know it’s hard to hear.” John said gently. “But, at least for me, the only thing worse than losing your sister would be to have her suffer like this for…well, forever.”   
“Dad…” Sam said, his heart starting to break.   
“I know, Sam.” John said. He stood up and grabbed Sam around the neck, which was difficult given that Sam had grown inches taller than him. “I know, buddy. I get it. I do. But we have to let her go.”   
“Evelyn has made her decision.” Castiel announced. “She has been granted some time to say goodbye to all of you, but she will only come back if you agree not to fight her on her choice.”   
“Where will she go?” Dean asked.   
He didn’t need to ask what Evy had chosen; she didn’t have a selfish bone in her body. Present the choice to her to save herself or save the world, and there was no question in his mind how that would go.   
“She will go to heaven.” Castiel assured the family. “She will join her mother and her sister there.”   
“Missy’s with Ruthie?” John asked.  
“Yes. She misses all of you but is quite happy with her other daughter.”   
“Can you tell her we miss her?” Dean asked.   
“No. But you can ask Evy to tell her.”   
“How much time do we get?” Bobby asked.   
“Fifteen minutes.” Castiel said. “Any longer, and we risk the flu getting out.”   
“Can you stop her head from hurting?” John asked. “I don’t want to spend fifteen minutes listening to her screaming.”   
“The headache has been taken from her.”   
“Then tell her to come back.” John said. “Tell her we’re all here, and we’ll be here until the end.”   
“Very well.” Castiel said.   
Before anyone could say anything else, Castiel was gone, and a small, weak voice called out. “Daddy.”   
Evy was sitting up on the couch now, and everything had gone back to normal, but no one noticed. Their focus was on Evy. In what seemed to them to be a cruel twist, Evy looked nearly back to normal. She was still pale, but she was no longer shaking. John shocked everyone in the room when he grabbed Evy in a crushing hug, tighter even than the daddy bear hugs she would ask for as a baby, and wept.   
“Oh, Daddy, please don’t cry.” Evy said, though tears were streaming down her own face as she said it. “Please don’t cry. I need to talk to you.”   
Bobby and Dean sat on the coffee table in front of the couch, while Sam sat on Evy’s other side. Evy comforted John a few more seconds, while she looked around at the rest of her family that remained. Sam was crying openly, and Evy took his hand. Dean was trying to hide his tears, probably trying to be strong and brave for Evy. Bobby was doing the same.   
“Daddy, please. Please, I need to talk to you.” Evy said.   
John took a deep breath and wiped his face. He didn’t want to hear whatever it was Evy had to say. His heart ached, deeper and more profound than ever, and every time it beat, the pain just spread and spread. Evy smiled at him (How can she smile right now? John thought when she did), and though he felt no joy or happiness whatsoever, he smiled back at her.  
“You guys know?” Evy asked.   
John nodded. “Yeah. We know.”   
“I have to go.” Evy said sadly. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to, but…”   
“Shhh. It’s okay.” John said. “We all understand.”   
“I need to talk to all of you.” Evy said.  
“What is it?” Sam asked.  
“Uncle Bobby?” Evy asked. “Promise me you’ll take care of them.”   
“I will, Baitfish. I will.”   
“I love you, uncle Bobby.” Evy said.   
Damn it, kid, Bobby thought. “Love you too, Baitfish. Love you too.”   
“Deanie? I know you love hunting, but promise me you’ll check on Daddy more often.” Evy said. “And be careful. Please.”   
“I promise, kiddo.”   
“Love you, Deanie.” Evy said, holding out a hand towards Dean.   
Dean placed his hand on top of hers, interlocking his fingers. “Love you too, kiddo.”  
“Sammy?”   
“Yeah, Cricket?” Sam asked.  
“I’m proud of you.” Evy said. “You’re the first one of us to do something other than hunting. And what you do is important. Don’t stop it. Okay?”   
Sam choked. He was known in the area for taking cases even when a client couldn’t pay. He’d been doing it since he graduated law school, which often meant that he was short on cash, causing him to him to have financial problems. Despite having graduated law school eight years earlier, he had only been able to move into his own apartment three months earlier. Sam believed in what he did, but it had often been a source of ridicule from Dean and a source of tension from his father.   
“Sammy?” Evy asked. “I don’t have much time.”   
“I won’t, Cricket.” Sam swore. “I won’t. I swear.”  
Instead of telling Sam she loved him, as she’d done Bobby and Dean, Evy did something Sam thought she had forgotten about. She took her middle and forefinger, kissed them, put the two to her heart, and held out her hand. Sam repeated her motion and touched his same two fingers to her. It was something Evy had started doing as a baby, a way to tell him she loved him without actually saying it. The last time he remembered it happening had been the night before Jess died. Evy finally turned to John. He was crying again. Evy reached up, wiped his tears away, and said to him,   
“Thank you too, Daddy.”   
“For what, little one?” John asked.   
Evy grabbed his waist in another hug. “For being my Daddy.”  
What does it matter now? John thought bitterly. “That’s been a blessing, little one. You’ve been a gift to all of us, especially me.”   
“I’m scared, Daddy.” Evy admitted.   
“Don’t be. Your mommy’s waiting for you right now.” John said. “You’ll be with her, and all this’ll be over.”   
“Daddy, don’t get bitter because of this, please.” Evy asked. “You’ve come so far from where you used to be. Don’t let this destroy you. Promise me.”   
How the hell can I promise that? This hurts more than anything else ever has. “I promise, little one.” John looked at the clock. They had only five more minutes. “What do you want to do?”   
“Just hold me, Daddy. Don’t go anywhere.”   
“I won’t.” John swore. “I won’t.”   
Nothing else was said, as there was nothing that could be said. The ticks of the clock, which for the ten minutes previous had gone unnoticed, now seemed to blare like a trumpet. John held Evy in his arms, rocking her back and forth. Bobby and Dean both put a hand on her knee so she’d know they were there, and Sam continued to hold Evy’s hand. Five minutes later, John let out a bitter sob when he felt Evy’s final breath leave her body. Though no one could hear or see her, Evy whispered from beside them,   
“Goodbye.”   
“Hello, Kitten.”   
Evy turned and gasped. “Mommy!”   
“Yes, it’s me.” Missy said. “Come here.”   
Evy ran to her mother’s arms, something she’d missed desperately the last few years. “I missed you so much.”   
“I missed you too, Kitten.” Missy said. “Come on, let’s go home.”   
Evy looked back to her family. John was still holding her lifeless body, Sam was still crying next to her, and Dean and Bobby were trying to convince them to move Evy’s body. Evy watched them sadly, wishing she could take their pain away from them.   
“What about them?” Evy asked. “I don’t want to leave them if it’s going to hurt them this much.”   
“Don’t worry, Kitten.” Missy said. “Your Daddy will be hurting for a while. So will your brothers and Bobby. But it won’t last forever.”   
“What do you mean?” Evy asked.   
“You’ll be back one day.” Missy explained.   
“I will?”   
“Yes, you will.” Missy promised. “But not right now.”   
“Are you sure they’ll be okay?” Evy asked.  
“They’ll be fine, Kitten.” Missy promised. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”   
Evy let her mother’s waist go, only to grab her hand. “Let’s go.”


End file.
